


Original Redemption

by thechenesis



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Blood and Gore, Fantasy, Loosely inspired by MXTX works, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Smut, Supernatural Elements, Violence, Xianxia (sort of)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:07:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 53,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23505865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thechenesis/pseuds/thechenesis
Summary: The priest Jongdae rushes back to his home village when Chanyeol's family asks him for help ― his childhood friend has been possessed. When he arrives, there is only one thing they know: the spirit's name is Kyungsoo.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongdae | Chen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19
Collections: Mythsoological Fic Fest





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on prompt JS-22.
> 
> [I'm halfway done with the last chapter (VII), but since I might not be able to finish it in time, the mods and I agreed to post it as ongoing. I hope to be able to post the last chapter before reveals!]
> 
> This fic is a syncretic mix of xianxia and catholic elements, plus some others from the general universe of MXTX's works (you do not have to be familiar with any of it to understand it). It is not my intention to portray any religion in specific, much less to offend any beliefs.
> 
> I'd first like to apologize to my prompter for taking your prompt in (most likely) a slightly different direction from the one you originally intended! My original plan was to follow a more catholic interpretation, but eventually my other interests leaked into this fic as I wrote it... I hope you still find it interesting nonetheless!
> 
> I have to thank the mods for being absolute sweehearts through and through. I had huge ups and downs with this fic, and the social convulsion from COVID-19 did not help one bit; but with mods' support I was able to get this far. Thank you!
> 
> I'd also like to thank L and N for their constructive criticism. This fic would not be what it is if not for the two of you. Thank you very much ♡
> 
> Lastly, for the readers, please check the tags. This fic is not focused on violence per se, but there are violent scenes. Also, [here's a moodboard](https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img921/1551/HEyExF.png) to help set the mood!

The fire was still crackling despite it being hours since they last fed it, twigs and logs popping and crumbling into ashes. The priest was asleep, lying on his side on top of his poor excuse for a mat. Kyungsoo continued to observe him, like he had since they had exchanged their goodnights the night before (more of a formality, really, since Kyungsoo did not need to sleep). He looked peaceful in his slumber, the light of the fire projecting shadows at an angle that made his kittenish lips look even more pronounced. Kyungsoo tried to stand up since his legs had gone numb, but then frowned at the uncomfortable sensation of moving a body that was not his own.

As experienced as he was, that was an aspect he could never get used to. No matter how similar the host body was to his original one, the fitting was never, would never, be perfect. In that case, however, it just made it worse that they were as dissimilar as one can go. His host's gangly limbs were simply not fit for the grace and finesse that was Kyungsoo. His feet were too long and large and _big_ ― it was impossible to move soundlessly through the forest or in the quiet of the night. Besides, his hair (that _freaking_ hair) was simply _too long_ : it would stick to his nape on hot days like worms to tar ― dark, sweaty and viscous. Besides, the wavy bangs every now and then covered his eyes. He wished he could just cut that hair short, or even shave it altogether. He _would_ , if the priest had not looked so sad the first time he had mentioned it.

 _When his family buries him, I think they'd prefer him to look as much as he was when he was alive_ , had been his official opinion on the matter. Kyungsoo knew it was bullshit.

Nevertheless, he would do it for the priest ― for Jongdae. Not a big effort anyway: a couple of months were almost literally nothing to him.

"Hm... You awake?" The priest murmured, sluggish from sleep. Kyungsoo startled, but apart from his involuntary surprised reflex, remained motionless.

"You guess."

"A stupid question," he conceded. "Should we get going?"

"It's still early hours. Go back to sleep."

The priest closed his eyes again, pulled his arms closer to his chest and curled his legs up. Useless: in less than fifteen minutes he would be sleeping on his back again, with his arms spread wide open from side to side. Kyungsoo weirdly did not find it as annoying as he expected.

"Ok." There was a sweetness in Jongdae's voice, one that was never there when he was fully awake ― or, at least, not when he was talking to Kyungsoo. It slipped through in his drowsiness though: the way he curled his syllables, slightly puckered his lips as he spoke. "I might, then. See you in a bit~"

Kyungsoo nodded (with that head that wasn't his), and for the next moments averted his eyes elsewhere until he was sure the priest was sound asleep again.

🙫

Kyungsoo waited at a crossroad.

Chanyeol's outfit was that of the simple farm boy he was: his pants, upper garment and jacket were all made of the same light brown cotton fabric, except for the slightly darker brown hemp finishes his mother had added to the hems to make them more durable. Kyungsoo was thankful they had provided him with leather boots at least (most likely the only pair the family owned), considering their potentially long trip ahead. Not that he cared much if Chanyeol's feet were walked to the bone (his family apparently did), but it would be an uncomfortable feeling indeed.

He had been waiting for some time when Jongdae finally reappeared up ahead in the trail. Although his conical-shaped hat hid part of his face, Kyungsoo knew it was him from his completely black outfit (except for his hat), something most people would not dare wear ― not while they were alive, at least. Those were burial clothes, reserved for the dead. Only those unafraid of spirits and ghosts would be bold enough to put them on; mostly monks, priests or people with highly developed Qi.

Point in case, Jongdae was all three.

"Have you found anything?" Kyungsoo asked him as soon as he was close enough to hear him. His voice came out a bit coarse, lower than most, with an earthly texture ― Chanyeol's voice.

"Don't be so hasty." Jongdae put down a sack he had been carrying over his shoulder. It seemed fine as he held it, but it hit the ground with a low, deep _thumb_. Kyungsoo folded his arms and waited. There was no point in hurrying Jongdae: if anything, it only made him take longer to reveal whatever it was that he had to say. Despite his Order's precepts, he seemed to enjoy Kyungsoo's impatience whenever he didn't immediately share information with him. "Are you not going to ask me what it is that I brought with me?" Jongdae asked after some time, as if he had not just recently ignored Kyungsoo's question.

"You can tell me if you want to. I won't ask you," Kyungsoo informed, resting his body against the directional sign post that stood at the juncture of the paths.

Jongdae smiled. "Alright, then." He kneeled on the grass, then proceeded to sit in a meditation posture.

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Jongdae smiled again. "I'm going to meditate until nightfall."

"What about the sack? Don't we need to do anything with it?"

"Not until nightfall." Chanyeol's head tilted up to the sky. The sun was still high; it would take more than a couple of hours for it to completely sink.

Kyungsoo weighed his options. His defeated sigh was enough of a sign for Jongdae, who opened his eyes even before Kyungsoo had said anything.

"I concede. Please tell me what is in the sack."

When the sky darkened to a deep purple, not yet quite black, they started working.

Kyungsoo searched their surroundings for seven rounded white rocks, all of them more or less the size of half a fist. When he brought them to Jongdae, he positioned them in a particular way on the ground ― a little farther from the main road where they had been before, closer to the forest. They did not want to risk attracting the attention of oblivious travelers. The priest then took a bottle of black ink from his bag, unwrapped a brush, and started drawing patterns on the rocks and between them. Kyungsoo observed him with interest, although less than he had before. They'd been traveling together for quite some time now, enough for him to get a general idea of Jongdae's abilities and capacity.

"Now get it for me, will you?" Jongdae asked as he drew, not taking his eyes off of his task.

"How will I know which one it is?"

"Just give it a try."

Kyungsoo's, no― Chanyeol's face frowned, but he nonetheless walked up to the sack that had been tossed to the side as they handled everything else. When he opened it, the interior revealed a multitude of different household items of all different sizes. There were candle holders, a broomstick, a flute, three knives, a rag doll, a beautiful porcelain kettle enveloped in two layers of fabric, and even a music box; the heaviest was an iron pot, its size enough to make food for a whole clan. Kyungsoo sorted them all side by side first, then looked at them thoughtfully. He did not need to think much ― actually, he did not need to think at all ―, but he at least had to pretend it was not as easy as it was. He ended up picking the broomstick, which he took for Jongdae to see.

Jongdae, who had already finished drawing the diagram, looked at the object he carried with curiosity.

"Did I get it right?" Kyungsoo asked. He knew the answer, but attempted to feign innocence using Chanyeol's face.

"Why do you think the broomstick is the one?"

"It is normal for brooms to fall apart after much use, so it is not surprising in itself that this one is broken. That said, this stick is still quite new; it doesn't show many marks of use. In that case, it would be unexpected for the broom to fall apart."

"Unless?"

"Unless someone handled it angrily, perhaps too forcefully."

Jongdae nodded slowly. "Your reasoning is not far off, but let me point something out." He stood up and dusted off his clothes. "First, looking at the kind of phenomenon the village is experiencing, are we looking at a ghost, a spirit, a ghoul, or a goblin?"

"A goblin."

"Correct!" Jongdae had so far proved himself a rather good teacher. Kyungsoo sometimes thought he was too soft, too patient, to the point others would sometimes think he himself did not know the answer. It did not, however, negatively influence his teaching apart from making some students doubt him: overall, his methods were quite solid. He always got the happiest when whomever he was teaching gave the right answer, and never disapproved of those who guessed wrong or even were too shy to speak out.

"We know this one is most likely the mischievous or evil type because of what it did," Jongdae continued. Earlier that afternoon, he had eventually told Kyungsoo about what he had learned. There were multiple fires in the city in the last month; most of them had been noticed as soon as they started and did not cause any major losses, but one of them had burned down an entire house. The couple living there were not hurt; they did, however, have to move back in with the man's parents who also lived in the village. "What kind of objects do goblins inhabit?"

"Typically..." Kyungsoo slapped his own (rather Chanyeol's) face with his (Chanyeol's) hand, "...Old objects."

Jongdae nodded. "Exactly. It makes sense that an evil goblin would be angry after inhabiting a mistreated object, but no goblin would choose to inhabit a broom," he pointed to the broomstick Kyungsoo still held in his hand, "as new as this one."

Kyungsoo knew Jongdae had brought in that sack all the objects the globin might inhabit ― or, at least, that was what he had said. "If you knew that, why did you even bring the broomstick?"

"I told the villagers about the globin, and they themselves brought me all the objects they thought could be potential vessels," he shrugged. "There is only one that I chose myself. Can you guess?"

He could not only guess; he _knew_ it. However... "Can't we just go straight to the point?" He said instead with a sigh.

Jongdae's eyebrows turned downwards at their ends as he compassionately smiled at Kyungsoo. "Alright, I'll stop lecturing you. The iron pot." As Kyungsoo kept staring at him, the priest went on. "In the village, I noticed the madam that owned that pot was emitting a lot of evil energy. After asking around a bit, I found out she is the mother of the man whose house was burned down." He proceeded to go to the iron pot and pick it up himself as he spoke, bringing it back to the magic circle. "Depending on your Qi, you can actually see that this pot has absorbed a lot of this evil energy, most likely because the madam kept on having negative thoughts as she cooked."

He huffed a bit during those last words: the pot was heavy, and he had to lift it considerably so that he could see the exact place he had to put it, at the very center of the circle. After doing so, he placed the last rock inside the pot, right in its middle.

"Considering the size of this pot, she was not only cooking for her and her husband, but also for her son and her daughter-in-law... Which is unexpected, since why wouldn't they cook for themselves?" He wiped the few drops of sweat on his face with one of his sleeves. "I investigated, and it seems the daughter-in-law has a sickly constitution. She got married to the madam's son against his mother's will. Despite their expectations, she never got any better, and the mother had to take over the household duties at her son's house too." He kneeled in front of the formation on the ground, watching the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the top of the trees. "This goblin has most likely lived in the house for a long time, protecting it. This pot is old, but it probably was not used much because of its size before, so the goblin could rest. Ever since this all happened, however, not only is the goblin's dwelling being disrupted every day, the lady has also infused him with lots of hateful energy."

The ringed staff was laid horizontally on Jongdae's lap. Kyungsoo kept his eyes on it as he stood near the priest, a little behind him now, also facing the pot.

"Do you think it became evil?"

"It's one possibility. Or else, considering it never did actually kill anyone or caused any real harm..." His words drifted off as the sunlight finally vanished from the horizon and the pot immediately started shaking. Jongdae became silent, but otherwise did not move, his hands still resting softly over his staff. Kyungsoo stood Chanyeol's body up properly, his eyes focused on the now vibrating pot.

It shook from one side to the other, almost falling out of the circle, but not quite; it seemed as if invisible threads kept it from going too far, and would pull it back to the center once it moved too close to the circle's border. If one had slightly higher levels of Qi, they would see thin threads spanning from the rocks in the circle, connecting them to each other and to the rock at the center of the pot, thereby wrapping it quite effectively. Jongdae had never asked Kyungsoo if he could see them, since those who were not from the human realm could definitely see otherworldly phenomena regardless of their spiritual powers. Therefore, he was sure Kyungsoo could see them.

The pot kept bouncing around for more than five minutes. Nonetheless, as if whatever was driving it was losing its force, the shakes got weaker and weaker, till it was merely swaying a bit from side to side. Eventually, it stopped completely.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo waited.

One second, the black iron pot stood at the center of the circle. The next, it had been replaced by what at first glance appeared to be a very small dwarf.

The creature had a general humanoid appearance, with two arms and two legs and an average face. Its skin, however, was of a blueish green, all covered with hair, and atop its spiky black hair emerged two short pointy horns. It was dressed in a plain white cloth, as if it had just stolen someone's pillow sheet and made additional holes for its arms and head. The thin threads from the rocks tied it all over, including the small club it carried on its back.

The voice that came out from such being was hoarse and low, not too different from what one would expect from a troll. "You kids want trouble," it said. It didn't sound like a question.

"Greetings, Goblin-nim," Jongdae answered, bowing quite deeply, but not moving his hands from his lap.

The goblin grumbled. "I can return your greeting if you remove these strings, kid."

Jongdae's respectful smile gave way to a more serious expression. "I am afraid we will not be able to do that until we are able to assess your intentions." As the goblin raised one of its eyebrows, Jongdae went further. "The fires in the city."

"Oh. That." Although it would be difficult for a human to estimate whether a goblin was young or old, to Kyungsoo this one seemed to be an elder. It felt almost like talking to a grandfather. "Family business," he explained, and left it at that.

"I am afraid we will need a bit more information."

"You sure are afraid of a lot of things, son."

Kyungsoo moved Chanyeol's body forward, stepping with force on the ground. "Answer him," he said, with a threatening tone. The goblin looked at him, noticing for the first time someone else was at the scene. It frowned soon after, seemingly confused. Kyungsoo looked right into his eyes, unwavering, until the wrinkles on the goblin's forehead finally smoothed. He turned his eyes back to Jongdae.

"Madam Eun has been too unfriendly to her daughter-in-law. I was just trying to help."

Jongdae's voice was soft, "By starting fires?"

"Kid, there's nothing like a disaster to bring family together." It smiled smugly. "I tried taking small-scale actions at first: burned madam Eun's wood so she'd have to borrow some from her son, then her son's tools so that he would have to come to his father's house to make some, and this kind of thing. Nothing worked. Eventually, I decided to force them to live together again. That's why I burned her son's house."

"Don't you think your actions were too extreme?" Jongdae sounded legitimately worried. "Could you not have tried some magic to solve it?"

The goblin frowned again, and stayed quiet for a couple of minutes till its face changed all of a sudden, surprised. "My club!" He tried looking back. "I had completely forgotten about it."

Goblins were powerful creatures. They needed, however, magical instruments to transform their power into action in the human realm: their clubs.

The priest nodded. "It must have been Madam Eun's hateful energy being poured into you; it sealed your magical powers," he suggested. "I've seen it happen a few times, specially to good-willed goblins."

It seemed that the goblin was not quite sure how to react after such compliment, if it could be called as such.

"Is there any way to fix it?" It eventually uttered in a low, thoughtful tone.

Kyungsoo looked at the ringed staff on Jongdae's lap. Not coincidentally, just seconds later the priest took the staff in his hands and pointed its circled end towards the goblin. He smiled. "Do not worry. This will take just a few seconds."

They returned the objects to the villagers the following day. There would be no more fires for some time, Jongdae explained, but it would be best if everyone tried to get along. He took the opportunity to take a look at madam Eun's daughter-in-law under the guise of a blessing to those who had lost their possessions in the fire; he gave her an amulet soon after, and told her to keep it on her at all times for at least a month.

"Why didn't you tell her she had been cursed?" Kyungsoo asked after they had put some distance between themselves and the village. He held a large bag full of food in Chanyeol's arms ― the villagers' payment for their services.

Jongdae shook his head. "The worst aspect of a curse sometimes is not even the curse itself, but rather the thought that someone around you was responsible. She would keep looking for the culprit and would not trust her fellow villagers anymore, perhaps not even her family and the people from her hometown."

"Shouldn't she doubt them? Someone _did_ spell a curse on her."

"The curse was quite weak; it only had such an impact because it was very old. She most likely has no contact with this person anymore, and the person themself might have even forgotten they'd cursed her. She will be fine in two weeks, and her trust in the people she knows will be preserved."

Chanyeol's eyebrows twitched. "Two weeks? You told her a month."

Jongdae chuckled. "Have you ever seen anyone take their medicine the full period it was prescribed?"

🙫

"That wasn't so hard, right?" The priest adjusted his black sash, which had swayed a bit to the side. The rest of his outfit was, as always, spotless.

Kyungsoo shrugged. "Don't be full of yourself. It was just a minor spirit."

Jongdae rolled his eyes. He motioned as if he was going to reply, then stopped. Kyungsoo was not paying too much attention to him, focusing instead on the rough path they had taken through the woods, being careful not to tumble; as the priest didn't continue the conversation, however, Kyungsoo raised his eyes at him, just in time to catch the subtle change in his expression ― from slight irritation to... something else.

Kyungsoo was the type to cut to the chase, so he did not hesitate. "What is it?"

He had been told before he could use a bit more sensibility. He was not entirely sure how he was supposed to do that.

The priest waived his hand, dismissing the question. When he noted Kyungsoo was still staring at him, however, not about to let that slide, he gave in.

"There is nothing wrong with what you said." He started with a calm but somewhat smaller voice than usual, now walking side to side to the tall body Kyungsoo inhabited, despite the narrowness of the trail. "It simply occurred to me that Chanyeol would have praised me instead." He looked and sounded apologetic. Deep down, however, Kyungsoo could also feel that there was _hurt_. "I'm sorry. I know you're your own person, and I was not looking for a compliment either. I try not to compare, but I hope you forgive me. Sometimes, it can be... hard."

Kyungsoo said nothing in response, instead moving his eyes back to the trail. Truthfully, that Chanyeol and Jongdae shared a lifelong story was something of an oversight. When Kyungsoo saw the tall, good-looking guy with bright round eyes (though not as round as his own) and goofy smile, and later incarnated in him, that was as far as he thought: that his new vessel was handsome (although rather clumsy to maneuver), that he and the priest seemed to be friends, but not to that extent. Although he could not bring that up to the priest for rather obvious reasons (at least for now), the feelings that would arise in the clergyman's eyes every time he looked at Chanyeol's body were more than enough of an indication of the turmoil inside him.

That _could_ have worked in his favor, if the priest had not become devastated upon learning that Chanyeol had been possessed by "an evil spirit".

After all, to be possessed by a spirit meant the host ― case in point, Chanyeol ― was _dead_.

🙫

They had been traveling together for about a month now.

When Jongdae had first found out about the possession, he hadn't even considered _not_ exorcising him; it was actually ― rather unprofessionally ― the only thought on his mind. He made his way from where he originally was, in the southern part of the Kingdom, back to his hometown in Godspeed, by means of horse riding, coaches and any faster mode of transportation he could find available.

He kept imagining, throughout his journey, the acts evil spirits typically engaged in: throwing themselves against walls, breaking bones, scarring skin, eating the body's own flesh. Most of the time, it was done out of insanity: the spirits could not control the body they were in, had no measure of their strength, frequently lost their own consciousness in the process. There were, however, stronger, more evil ones, that took pleasure in the family's suffering of seeing their deceased relative falling apart. From the short note Chanyeol's mother had sent to him, he couldn't tell what it was.

_Our Chanyeollie's body was possessed. Come quick._

He took a week to get there, without any updated news on the way. When he arrived, the circumstances surprised him.

Chanyeol (or rather, _Chanyeol's body_ ) was roaming around the village. In fact, that might not be the most accurate description: he was _walking_ around, apparently quite consciously, carrying firewood from the lumber mill to the houses. The villagers seemed pleased with his help, if their smiles and words of gratitude were anything to go by.

Despite his years of training, the priest felt his blood boiling at the act of treason against Chanyeol's honor, memory, his _person_. Could they really be so shameless as to accept aid from a spirit possessing Chanyeol's corpse?!

His training did come in handy though. He breathed in and out, relaxed his clenching fists, regained control of himself. He opted not to enter the city, circling instead its outer rim, in order to remain out of sight of the villagers ― but most of all, of _him_. He thought he ought to talk first to Chanyeol's family. In any case, Chanyeol's body seemed to be in good shape.

Finding the Park's home was almost second nature: he had grown up in the house next door, and the village hadn't ever changed much, not when he lived there, not after he left. He tied his horse to a tree nearby and walked to the door, where he found the Park matriarch on a bench in front of the house. She nearly fell as she spotted him: she got up fast, but her legs were weak and trembling and collapsed under her. With Jongdae's aid, they hurried inside.

"We were very surprised," Chanyeol's sister Yoora told him, as her mother wept on the chair next to her in the house's main room. "He was... _is_ in full control of himself. He got up when we were about to start the funeral rites. We thought we might have been mistaken, that he hadn't really died." She wiped a tear that had run down her cheek, but remained otherwise composed. "When he opened his mouth, even though it was _his_ voice, _his_ body... We could tell it wasn't really him anymore."

"His eyes." The mother had managed to collect herself; she spoke from behind the hand still covering her tear-streaked face. "If you look at them, you'll see. That's not our Channie. His eyes are dark now." She removed her hand, but her eyes were looking down. "Too dark."

"Mother is the most affected of us all," Yoora declared, a condescending tone underlying her sentence. "Considering the possibilities, it's not the worst. It seems to be a good spirit... He's calm, conscious, under control. That is a good thing, right?"

Jongdae nodded. That had not been the time to alarm them; not yet. "Mama can't look at him, so we suggested to him that he stay outside during the day, find something to do. He comes here at the end of the day though, spends the night in the common room. We had given him a mattress first, Chanyeol's old one, but he said he doesn't sleep." She frowned. "Is that common?"

"It's within normality." It actually depended on how attached the spirit still was to their human condition. Since spirits possessed dead bodies, they no longer had any metabolic needs ― but some of them still felt the _desire_ to eat, sleep... Or have sex. The first two were manageable even with a cold body ― but not so much the latter. Some spirits got into rages because of that. "Since he's conscious, has he said anything about his purpose? His attachment to Earth? Who he was before?"

Chanyeol's mother dried her face with the sleeve of her upper garment. "He told us his name. Kyungsoo."


	2. Chapter 2

They were walking on a track in the middle of an open prairie. It was autumn; the reeds danced on both sides of the way with the dry, cold wind, like a crowd at a city's main street cheering for their victorious warriors that managed to come back alive from war. The stems were almost as tall as Jongdae, which made the comparison less farfetched.

Except they were _going_ to a battle, instead of returning from one.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Kyungsoo declared, the voice coming from Chanyeol's mouth low and cautious. The priest sighed. This was the _only_ conversation they had been having ever since leaving the city earlier that day.

"You know they have nobody else to resort to."

"And that _is so_ for a reason. It has killed all their local clerics." Kyungsoo stopped, making use of the height of Chanyeol’s body to tower over Jongdae, blocking his way forward. "And _you_ are underqualified for this job."

Jongdae looked up defiantly, not at all fazed by the size of Chanyeol's body. "I'm one of the best exorcists there are, be it in my Order or elsewhere."

"Which will perhaps allow you to live 10 extra seconds." He placed Chanyeol's large hands over the priest's shoulders, then lowered his head to look him eye to eye. "Don't be stubborn."

Jongdae's Adam’s apple bobbed slowly as he swallowed once, his eyes never straying from Kyungsoo's gaze. "Don't treat me like a peasant. I'm _not_ ignorant."

"Are you sure? Because that _'s_ what you've been acting like."

The priest's eyes widened with anger. He shrugged Chanyeol's hands off of his shoulders and took one step back, adding some distance ― physical and metaphorical ― between them.

"How do _you_ know? Why are you acting so knowledgeable about this case all of a sudden?"

Kyungsoo did not falter. "I have _eyes_ , that's all ―or did you not attest the trail of destruction this spirit left behind when we were in the city?"

"I've seen similar-"

"Similar _on the same level_?"

"Similar _enough_."

They faced each other in silence. Jongdae's black robes swayed with the wind, and so did Chanyeol's natural, dark wavy hair, falling from the bun Kyungsoo had attempted to wrap it in. Neither of them spoke as each refused to surrender. The priest could not understand how a simple spirit could be so pretentious. There was a part of him that almost felt pleasure at the degree of Kyungsoo's distress over his safety ― but that was a part he had learned to keep hidden under layers and layers of selfless thoughts and commitment to his cause, to his Order. Therefore, no such thought was given conscious deliberation in Jongdae's mind.

Instead, all his mind could elaborate on was _why_ that spirit was giving him such a hard time: what could it possibly know? Spirits were no more than disembodied humans. As much as they could wander the land before finding a corpse to possess, they mostly could not do so out of their own will: spirits were always tied to a purpose, the very _reason_ why they could not move on to the afterlife, and their mobility on Earth was limited to their motivation, even when they could not consciously remember it. Such a spirit could hardly be more experienced or knowledgeable about the situation than he was.

There _were_ , however, spirits that were able to circulate more. Typically, their ties to Earth were more abstract ― but also stronger. Still, the overwhelming majority of spirits were only able to possess one body before they were permanently sent to the otherworld, since they did not have the power to leave their vessels out of their own will: they could only do so through the works of priests, shamans, monks, and the like. Jongdae had only ever faced one such situation, when a spirit had been released to wander the world again after a butchered job by a novice, and it had _not_ been pretty.

Kyungsoo, however... He simply did not seem to fit the behavior of the revengeful, desirous or strong-willed spirits that would have been able to remain on Earth for long. He was so passive, so collaborative... so controlled.

Kyungsoo sighed. "Jongdae-ssi, please listen to me. This is _not_ a good idea."

"I appreciate your concern, I really do." If he looked only at Chanyeol's eyes, he could feel Kyungsoo more directly, almost forget the mismatch between body and soul. "But these people have nobody else to help them. It's got to be me."

"You won't be of any help to them if you're _dead_."

"I won't be of any help alive either if I just walk out of here."

Before Kyungsoo could find a clever response, something to say to convince Jongdae to at least postpone such a fateful encounter, the priest had already rounded him, continuing to trail the path ahead in the direction opposite the city. Although the energy his ringed staff emanated could be felt even by commoners and his completely black clothes attested to both his power and abilities, at the moment all Kyungsoo could see was a rather small young man walking the road to his execution.

And, it seemed, there was nothing he could do to stop him.

🙫

The first time Jongdae interacted with Kyungsoo in Chanyeol's body, to say it was not easy for the priest would certainly be an understatement.

Kyungsoo had not been quite sure what to expect. Before incarnating in Chanyeol's body, he had seen the two of them talking a couple of times. The expression on Jongdae's face in those occasions was sometimes ambiguous; Chanyeol, however, had always been smiling so brightly that Kyungsoo felt assured they had a good relationship. It was either the case that Jongdae was simply a melancholic person ― not at all an uncommon case for monks ―, or else there was something more to their relationship than meets the eye. In either case, Kyungsoo thought he had nothing to lose.

(It was, therefore, rather shocking to him when, some weeks later, an unexpected turn of events made him realize he had actually made a terrible choice.)

On the day they met, he had been carrying logs from the lumber mill to the houses of anyone who asked in the village. Luckily, it seemed Chanyeol had been used to that activity: his body did not get tired even after hours, and his bulky, muscular arms held the weight without much effort. Kyungsoo disliked the sweat sprouting from his temples and forehead that dripped to his chin and dropped on his clothes. Other than that, he concluded that this Chanyeol boy was a rather strong human, with a rather resilient body, which made him an adequate option for his purposes.

He had felt a presence near the village, one that was quite distinct from either evil creatures or common humans. When he looked up from where he was standing in the city's main road, nobody stood at the city’s entrance anymore.

The street vendors he had been carrying wood for thanked him for his work with small nods of their heads. He nodded back once, turned his back to them and returned to the lumber mill. Their reactions to him had improved considerably throughout the week: they would still not quite talk to him, but at least wouldn't scream at the sight of him or try to run away from him either.

Kyungsoo did not really care whether people liked him or not. It would be fair to say he was fairly used to being both hated and feared. As long as nobody tried to hurt him ― and nobody did, since they would end up damaging Chanyeol's body in the process ―, it was all fine.

Not that he couldn't tolerate pain; human bodies were just too feeble. It was too easy to break them down.

The manager of the lumber mill had enough tasks to keep him busy till the end of the day. Although he would have made the most of the opportunity to exploit free labor either way, Chanyeol's father had also asked him to keep "him" busy for as long as he could ― and that's what the man did. It was only when the light of the sun was replaced by the dimmer shine from lamps and paper lanterns that he let Kyungsoo go.

The lights inside the Park's residence were on as always. Kyungsoo hesitated outside the closed door, trying to listen for any unusual sounds. Chanyeol's ears could not catch anything, which was unusual in itself. At that time, they would typically be washing the pots, or cleaning up the kitchen after their meal; they always tried to be done by the time he came back.

Kyungsoo had been waiting for this moment; took him long enough.

He opened the door slowly.

Chanyeol's sister, Yoora, sat on a chair at the corner. By the table, sitting on a cushion, someone else kneeled: black clothing from his robes to his pants, sash and boots. His hair was also black, tied neatly into a single knot at the top of his head. An equally black headband circled his forehead. No strands of hair were left out of place.

He had been looking at Yoora; upon the door opening, his eyes flashed towards Kyungsoo.

The man stared at him so intensely that Kyungsoo froze momentarily. It was only after a couple of seconds that he managed to snap out of it and finally got in, closing the door behind him. He removed Chanyeol's straw sandals and knelt on the wooden floor closest to the wall, more or less at the same distance from Yoora and their so far unnamed guest.

"Good evening," the priest said, his tone as cold as ice despite his intended politeness. Kyungsoo answered with a nod of Chanyeol's head. "I understand you're the spirit called Kyungsoo." Not really a question; Kyungsoo just nodded again. "My name is Kim Jongdae. I am a priest from the Zhongda Order from Gyeonggi-do." His voice still held a layer of frost. "Kyungsoo-ssi, do you remember how you ended up in this body?"

Hm. "I remember I roamed around this region for some time before incarnating..." he started, uncertain. "I had actually seen you before, Priest-nim." He bowed deeply. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

Jongdae's expression shifted, some of the iciness melting away. Nonetheless, Kyungsoo thought his eyes were too transparent for his own good: wariness dripped out of them like water from a boiling pot.

"Kyungsoo-ssi... Spirits like you are rare. You must have been a strong person to be able to control somebody else's body like that."

He knew what the priest was hinting at. _Not so bad_. "Priest-nim, I must admit... I do not have any memories of my past life." He lowered Chanyeol's eyes. "I am sure, however, that this body― Chanyeol-ssi's body... When I saw it, he was already..." He glanced at Yoora, who had just taken her handkerchief to wipe the tears on the verge of dripping under her eyes.

The priest did not quite frown. Nonetheless, something in his eyes led Kyungsoo to believe he was under scrutiny at that very moment. He kept Chanyeol's head lowered, eyes down, hands humbly resting over his lap, while he waited for the verdict.

Kyungsoo thought he knew what Jongdae was thinking about. There were two most common cases of possession. Firstly, roaming spirits that would take advantage of vacant bodies ― that is, of the deceased ― to try to reestablish their connections to Earth. These typically had earthly desires that they wished to fulfill before moving to another realm. In most cases, the spirits themselves were average people (anyone could have suppressed strong desires). Problems usually arose from the incompatibility between body and spirit, which often made them unable to control their new vessel, frequently leading to rampages and the overall appearance of madness. Nevertheless, these cases were relatively easy to solve.

Ghouls, on the other hand, in most cases held control over their bodies. They were formed when spirits forced themselves into living people, subjugating the existing spirit inside. Since it was not a mere case of occupying an empty vessel, but rather _stealing_ one, they were typically the work of malevolent spirits. The process required a lot of strength as well. The conquered spirit still resided in the body, preserving its ties to it and therefore making it easier to control; the spirit's essence, however, was usually obliterated.

"I know I do not hold much malignity." Kyungsoo stated, extending Chanyeol's arms ahead of his body. "Priest-nim, please feel free to check it if you would like to be sure."

Jongdae lowered his eyes to Chanyeol's wrists for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to Yoora. It was not an easy decision. Kyungsoo _seemed_ like a good, well-behaved spirit; it was not that hard to believe him. If they attested he was evil, on the other hand, the chances he was a ghoul would rise considerably. That meant that, even after they exorcised him and the body died, Chanyeol's spirit would be too fragmented, unable to be reborn...

"We don't need to tell my mother," Yoora eventually said, her voice slightly nasal. She had been crying. The inference was clear.

On the other side of the room, Jongdae nodded. He took the ringed staff that had been lying on his side and held it out in front of him, in the direction of Chanyeol's body. The six rings brushed over the skin on Chanyeol's left hand, then on his right. It stopped for a moment, before the priest retracted the staff and laid it on the ground again. His back was still as straight as a ruler, but one could see he was much more relaxed.

"I'd say being a ghoul is impossible. He holds no malice at all."

🙫

They had not left right away.

With the ghoul hypothesis being discarded, the question of what to do with Kyungsoo still remained. Kyungsoo himself said nothing. He kept to the routine he had before Jongdae arrived: “woke up” early, went to the lumber mill manager and followed his instructions. In the rare occasions there were no more trees to chop down or wood to cut and transport, the manager would find something else for him to do, so he never arrived home any earlier or any later than the time the manager decided to go home himself.

For that reason, he knew he was missing the many discussions the priest had been having with the Park family. At night, after that first meeting, they managed to get back to their routine of already being in their rooms by the time he got home. They most likely were discussing his situation during the time he was away, which was perfectly reasonable. Nonetheless, Kyungsoo was generally impatient, and not having the slightest idea of which solution the family was leaning towards made him a little bit anxious ― not because he was afraid, but rather because he yearned for control.

It would be inaccurate to say he had no idea whatsoever though. He never witnessed the Parks talking to the priest; the Parks were also always in their bedrooms when he got home. Kim Jongdae, in turn, was a different story.

The priest ended up sleeping in Chanyeol's bedroom after much insistence from the family. Kyungsoo did not quite get why he was so reticent at first about sleeping under a roof, the option being setting up a tent outside; but then it occurred to him that Chanyeol was technically dead. Jongdae was a priest, however, which meant he wouldn't be the type to be afraid of ghosts. Honestly, there was a chance the Park family would even be happy if Chanyeol's soul reappeared to talk to them.

Perhaps he was uncomfortable about sleeping in his dead friend's room. Kyungsoo figured a priest-monk would be tougher than that, but then again... It could make sense if they were very close. They did not seem to be best friends from the times he had seen them talking before he incorporated in Chanyeol, though.

The exact reason still puzzled him, but he figured it was not something he could openly ask, specially not until he had managed to earn Jongdae's trust. Asking the family seemed rather impossible.

Maybe because of his discomfort, even though he did go to Chanyeol's bedroom to sleep, Jongdae stayed in the common room while he was awake. He went to bed at the same time every night, but somewhat late. Until then, he sat at the table, sometimes reading books, sometimes meditating, sometimes simply deep in thought.

For the first couple of nights, he did not spare Kyungsoo a word, not even a glance. Kyungsoo rather shamelessly decided to be a little bolder and stared at his profile for hours the first night, hoping to get him talking. It did not work. He could see, however, that the priest's eyes seemed a little brighter than average, glistering a bit against the candle light.

The second night, while he looked at his profile again, there seemed to be bags under his eyes; or rather, his eyes overall just looked a little bit puffy. Kyungsoo scratched his spiritual chin. Could it be that he had been crying?

It was only in the third night that Kyungsoo was finally able to get some clues about what the family had been thinking. Jongdae initiated the conversation himself.

"Excuse me." Kyungsoo was not looking at him at that exact moment, so he was caught by surprise when he listened to the priest's voice. As soon as he looked at him, Jongdae continued. "Miss Yoora told me you do not remember what your goal on Earth is?"

Kyungsoo took the opportunity to observe him as they talked. His eyes had already gone back to normal; no more puffiness, no more glistering. The iciness from their first encounter also seemed to have faded a bit, both in his eyes and his voice.

"I'm sorry," Chanyeol's body uttered. His tone was sincere, although this time, Kyungsoo did not look down. "As I told you, I don't have memories from my past life."

Jongdae remained silent for a few minutes. When Kyungsoo started wondering whether the conversation had ended, he picked it up. "Do you think there is any chance you might have been cursed?"

"Considering the situation... It is a possibility," he conveniently agreed. "Might be the reason for my memory loss."

"You seem rather knowledgeable about these things, Kyungsoo-ssi." Had he slipped? "Perhaps you were some type of monk in your previous life." Oh, not quite.

He nodded. "It is a possibility."

Regarding that as a potentially interesting insight, Jongdae remained quiet, mulling it over in his head. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, continued to observe him carefully. He knew what he wanted. For his plan to work, however, the priest had to reach all conclusions and make all decisions himself; it was imperative he did not realize Kyungsoo was leading him. Therefore, Kyungsoo stayed silent, waiting for him to talk first.

After a long time, Jongdae sighed, and that was that. "It is quite late already. I am going to sleep." He looked at Chanyeol's body, still sitting straight next to the wall on the other side of the room. "Don't you ever sleep, Kyungsoo-ssi?"

He shrugged. "This body does not need it."

From the distance, it seemed the priest's face had darkened; but the room was poorly lit, and Kyungsoo couldn't be sure.

"Then, I hope you manage to spend a restful night," he uttered after a few seconds, tone gentle and calm.

Kyungsoo bowed his head. "Good night, Priest-nim."

From that conversation, Kyungsoo got the feeling the Parks wished to exorcise him. After all, that would be the only reason they would try to investigate his background. The priest Jongdae was strong enough to exorcise most spirits by force; Kyungsoo had the feeling, however, he likely avoided that solution as much as he could. After all, there was a somewhat simpler solution: to grant the spirit's last wish; to fulfill whatever its life goal had been.

Most commoners were under the impression this was a terribly complicated method ― if someone was so attached to Earth they had become a ghost, then certainly their desires ought to be either wicked or too ambitious, to the point they become unattainable.

Ironically, that was hardly ever the case. Most people's hearts were on the simpler side. Even when their conscious wishes were of great fame and fortune, some coins and compliments were often enough to make them satisfied.

Since he did not acknowledge any last wishes, however, he put the priest in a delicate position. Chanyeol's family certainly wished to bury him as soon as possible, rather than have his body roam around the city. That would mean exorcising him by force, which could take a toll on Chanyeol's body. Besides, in the eventuality that he was a ghoul (Kyungsoo believed the priest had not completely discarded that possibility), the approach to the exorcism should be different, and trying to exorcise him according to the spirit method could further harm Chanyeol's soul inside his body. All in all, the only risk-free solution would be to find out Kyungsoo's wish, fulfill it, and then bring Chanyeol's body back intact.

Taking into consideration what he knew of the priest's dispositions, he would bet his two legs that was what he planned on doing. Of course, that involved convincing the Park family of not getting rid of him immediately. Not easy, especially when it came to a mourning mother.

Despite all that, there was not much Kyungsoo could do at this point besides behaving properly, so that's what he did. He had not been too worried before about how Chanyeol's body behaved before, as there was no one with spiritual knowledge in that tiny city; with Jongdae there every day, however, he took extra care to conceal his sweat, as well as to eat only when he wasn't around (although for that an explanation could be more easily provided).

On the sixth day, they were once more alone in the common room. This time, Jongdae had taken a map out of his bag and was examining it, brows furrowed in concentration.

Kyungsoo examined the areas on the map that had been marked with red ink. He was at a fair distance, but his knowledge of those territories was extensive, so it was not hard for him to understand what they were signaling. How much awareness he should display to the priest was another matter entirely.

"These red marks, what do they mean?" he asked, interested in seeing whether Jongdae would answer him.

The priest was startled for a moment, but soon managed to regain his calm composure. "Ah, these..." his finger traced the thin yellowed paper in front of him. "These mark the frontier of the Human and Hell Realms. In other words, where the two meet."

He was right. In the Human Realm, Kyungsoo had never seen such a comprehensive map before. "Was it you who marked them?"

Jongdae did not avert his eyes from the map to answer. "Yes. I've been traveling throughout the land to map these borders. Since they overflow with negative energy, they are more prone to producing ghosts and other spiritual creatures." As he spoke, Kyungsoo could see his mind was elsewhere; his words were precise, but distant at the same time. Jongdae bit his lower lip, looking at one particular location on the map.

One thing had to be said: the priest was extremely efficient. From what Kyungsoo could see, he had been able to sketch the frontier so far with quite good precision. While he was having those thoughts, an idea suddenly crossed his mind. He did not really care much for what Jongdae was doing, but that might be a good opportunity. "Now that you mention it..."

For the first time since they started talking, the priest raised his eyes to him. "What is it?"

"I don't know how I ended up in this region, but I feel it is not familiar to me. Looking at the names in your map, however... That one in the northeast seems different to me."

It was precisely the location Jongdae had been examining with the most attention. The priest's eyes widened slightly. "This one?" He pointed at the map to be sure. Kyungsoo nodded.

His short fingers traced the outlines on the map again, up till the point that had been highlighted with a light red, but without any clear lines drawn on it yet. Once scale was taken into consideration, the distance from that place to where they were now was quite far. Unless one was able to travel on horseback or found yet another means of transportation, the trip would demand at least 60 days on foot, without accounting for any unforeseen mishaps.

"That would have been a rather large distance for a spirit to cover," Jongdae commented, neither innocently nor in accusation. In a way, it seemed almost as if he was talking to himself. On the other hand, Kyungsoo felt compelled to reply.

"Indeed." He shrugged. "I don't know what it means. I just feel different when I look at that place's name."

Not at any moment did Kyungsoo assume Jongdae was stupid. He knew the approach he had decided to take was risky. What any evil spirit or ghoul would like the most would be to go to a place infested with negative energy, since it weakened human spiritual powers and strengthened those of evil creatures. That was why not only did those places give birth to this type of beings the most, but were also swarming with them. That was also why these places were the hardest for monks, priests and shamans to cleanse: no matter how powerful one was, their powers would be only a fraction of their potential.

He knew, however, that the priest had plans of going to that place in the near future, based on how it was the next region to be completed in his map. He also knew the place was far enough that it meant the two of them would travel together for quite some time. Whether Jongdae would consider his suggestion, or whether he would turn it down immediately, depended then on how much he thought of Kyungsoo as a threat.

Jongdae gave him one last look from the corners of his eyes. Kyungsoo made his best attempt at looking innocent and proper ― Chanyeol's body helped him much in the regard, since he had a naturally amicable face and an air of naïveté about him, with his large shining eyes and his ears sticking out of his long wavy hair.

Throughout the past days, the priest had never looked at him for a long period of time. In the majority of cases they exchanged some words, Jongdae would end up with a conflicted expression on his face and would soon find an excuse to remove himself from the room. An idea of why that was had started to form at the back on Kyungsoo's mind; about why Jongdae had rushed back in a hurry after he found out about the possession, why he was unable to face Chanyeol's (dead) body for long, why he felt uneasy about sleeping in his room, which surely had many traces of Chanyeol left.

Even if he was right in his assumption, whether that would be beneficial or detrimental to his plans, he could not say.

The priest sighed as he folded the map and put it away in his bag again.

"I will talk to Madam Park tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

They had come upon yet another village.

Or perhaps, "remains of what used to be a village" would be a better way to frame it.

Many of the houses had been burned to the ground, the blackened stumps of their poles sticking out of the ground like fragments of broken bones. The buildings that had not been burned had been so utterly destroyed one could hardly discern what they had been before: pieces of roof and walls and furniture were mixed together in huge, irregular heaps, as if the whole city had been crushed and ground together by a giant.

There was, however, something else that was scarier than any of that.

"No bodies." Jongdae stood in a large opening in the middle of the village-turned-scrapyard. Although his tone was sober, there was no surprise in his voice. Kyungsoo could almost hear the part he had chosen not to speak out loud: _here too, again_. "How many villages have we come across so far?"

With no need to count, Kyungsoo was quick to reply. "This is the fourth."

They had been tracking the destructive spirit for a couple of weeks now. They were, however, always one step behind. At times, they spotted pillars of smoke in the horizon; at times, they were under the impression they could hear piercing screams and shrill wails somewhere far, far, away. Nonetheless, no matter how much faster they walked, no matter if they ran for half of the day, not even if they managed to coax a scared horse to carry them for a couple of miles ― they arrived too late every single time.

Jongdae kneeled next to one of the burned down houses and touched the blackened wood.

"The wood's still warm," he informed Kyungsoo with a spark of hope. "I think we're getting closer."

If it was up to Kyungsoo, they would be walking in the opposite direction, so that information was not well-received at all. He knew Jongdae would keep moving forward even if he refused to continue though, so he had no option but to come along with him. Their chances were thin as it were, but Jongdae's fate on his own left no margin for doubt.

"Jongdae-ssi..."

"I know what you're going to say. No." His voice was gentle as always, but his tone welcomed no further discussion.

Kyungsoo sighed. He had run out of arguments. It was not as if Jongdae did not know he was walking to his death either. What was one supposed to say in such a situation?

Considering Chanyeol's height and strength, he supposed he _could_ simply pick Jongdae up and take him away. There were, however, two inconveniences to that. The first, and most important one, was that it would not solve anything. Jongdae would only become more and more determined as time passed, and it was not as if Kyungsoo could keep him locked up forever (well, maybe he _could_ , technically speaking, but what kind of life would that be?). The second was that he was _not_ supposed to save him. So far, he had managed to walk on the thin line of ambiguity, making it so that his superiors could not accuse him directly of straying away from their orders. They could not send someone else to take him away or to replace him either, as what they were doing also did not adhere to the rules and it was better to keep a low profile. If he confronted them in a more straightforward way, however, Kyungsoo suspected they might take bolder measures.

But maybe, the worst aspect of it all was that he knew what was happening. He knew the culprit.

And he was responsible.

🙫

After six weeks of traveling together, something inside Kyungsoo had started to change.

The last remnants of summer persisted in the still warm rays of sunshine that woke them up in the morning, in the heat that sometimes forced them to remove their outer robes (but only when they were alone, of course, and there was no one else in sight) as they walked the never ending paths towards the north.

Kyungsoo disliked the heat; it required extra effort for him as well, since he had to be very careful in order to conceal every single drop of sweat that appeared on Chanyeol's body. An unexpected silver lining was that Jongdae also felt hot.

They came across rivers often, and in the hottest days, when they were more than a day away from any village, Jongdae would pause their journey to bathe.

It turned out the priest was incredibly tolerant of hunger, thirst, pain and most types of discomfort, but something he could not stand, even after all his years of training, was the heat. Kyungsoo suspected ― even though he had never asked him directly ― that Jongdae had chosen an Order whose temple was at the top of a very high mountain precisely in order to avoid having to deal with hot temperatures. It was really admirable that he was willing to answer calls in renowned hot climate cities considering how much he detested it.

Apparently, swimming in rivers or lakes when it was hot was a habit that he had developed precisely in order to be able to carry out his duties under those conditions. As he had been traveling together with Kyungsoo for a good part of the summer, at some point he had reached his limit and could not hold himself any further. The first time, he had tried to send Kyungsoo away on a task and bathe furtively, but ultimately Kyungsoo ended up finding him out. After overcoming his initial embarrassment, the matter was settled just like that, and bathing in rivers had become something of a routine.

That day, with the sun at its peak, the priest had already taken off the sleeves of his robes, the fabric hanging lightly over the tight sash on his waist. Even though his undergarments were made of light white cotton, sweat still sprouted like dew from his skin, glistening under the sunshine in small drops that at some points turned into thin streaks running over his body. Even his face, which typically displayed his serene constitution, exposed how miserable he was feeling.

Kyungsoo raised Chanyeol's hand to his ear, focusing on sharpening his senses. There was only so much a human body could do, of course; but he knew the territory well, which meant what he was looking for was merely confirmation for his educated guess. Just as he expected, a faint noise of gurgling water could be heard in the distance.

"Let's take a right here," he said out loud, pointing to the nearby forest.

Jongdae frowned as he looked to the inexistent path in the woods. Then he cocked his ears and seemed to hear it, too.

The smile he shot Kyungsoo was brighter than the midday sun above them.

When they reached the river, Kyungsoo searched for a patch of shadows under a tree closer to the river bank to sit. He removed his boots, then his socks, and dipped just his feet in the crystal-clear water. Jongdae, on the other hand, had moved behind some bushes to remove his clothes. When he came out, he had a piece of fabric around his waist, which he kept on until he was waist deep into the water. Only then did he remove it, throwing it over his shoulder.

Kyungsoo let Chanyeol's eyes hover over the taut skin covering the expanse of the priest's chest. The defined, but not overly developed muscles that suggested themselves in the soft ups and downs of his torso were a pleasant sight that Kyungsoo had gotten used to by now. The first time he had seen them, however, had been a shock.

That is, more to the priest than to him, especially considering at that time it had been no more than two weeks since they had started traveling together.

As mentioned, Jongdae had tried to be stealthy about it. He had told Chanyeol to go back to the city that they had left about an hour earlier; he had forgotten to buy more supplies, and they should at least acquire some more snacks in case they did not come across game in their way. Since Chanyeol's body was technically a corpse, he should suffer less from the temperature, and therefore it was best for him to go by himself, right? Kyungsoo had thought it was weird ― Jongdae tended to be careful with this sort of thing ― but could not see any point in discussing the matter further, so off he went.

He hated the heat too, though. Just thinking about walking all the miles to the city and back again left him mentally drained. He was not supposed to cheat ― after incorporating in a human body, he should continue to act as a simple human ―, but he thought that nobody would pay him any mind for such a minor breach of rules.

After hiding behind the vegetation next to the road, he knelt on the ground and drew an invisible symbol over the grass with his finger. The lines drawn in the air suddenly flashed red once he finished. With the symbol floating midair, a tiny ball of smoke started growing in its center, till it reached the size of fist. It then vanished in one small explosion, the strips of red clouds shooting in every direction. Where the smoke and the diagram had been, now stood (or, rather, floated) only a tiny being.

It resembled a human, if humans were only ten centimeters tall. If it was scaled up, that creature would be recognized as a boy in his late teens; he wore deep red vests, and his long, black hair was tied up in a ponytail. His droopy eyes were full of mirth as he gazed at Kyungsoo.

"Why are you this size..." Kyungsoo sighed, hiding half of his face in his right hand.

"I have to use only a fragment of my energy if I remain this size," he answered, moving around the air in front of Kyungsoo's head as if he was swimming. "What do I owe the honor of master summoning me to the Human Realm? It's not my place, but I should remind master that he is not supposed to use his powers here." Despite his teasing, it was obvious he couldn't care less, and actually had a lot of fun in reprimanding him.

Kyungsoo sighed again.

"Alright, whatever. What I need is simple. Baekhyun, go to the town in that direction and get some food for me."

The tiny Baekhyun was startled. "You summoned me here just to go get you some food?"

Chanyeol's body shrugged. "Don't want to walk under this sun. Human bodies cannot stand the heat well. Too uncomfortable."

"That surely provides you with a new perspective of how much they must suffer when they move to the Hell Realm, doesn't it?" Baekhyun teased again, now floating still as if he was lying down on a bed. "I don't understand, though. Since you’re the one inside that body, you could find sustenance even from things not edible for humans, couldn’t you? Why all the trouble to get human food?”

"Eating is actually easier than such methods. But it doesn’t matter. It's not for me."

"Oh, I see..." he flew closer to Kyungsoo's face. "How's everything going with our saintly friend?"

Kyungsoo moved Chanyeol's big hand in front of his face the same way he would when trying to chase away a fly. An offended Baekhyun flew back, but he was not annoyed for long; soon he was floating in front of Kyungsoo's face again, this time upside down, his long black hair hanging under him. "Have you found out his weaknesses yet?"

"I might be onto something."

Baekhyun seemed excited. "What is it, what is it?"

"Don't want to say yet."

The tiny being snorted. "Always so proud. Listen, I'm not going to tell anyone, so nobody will know if you're wrong besides me... Please tell me?" Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. "Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?" Kyungsoo did not even react. "You're way too boring... Why wasn't I placed under a more fun lord..." Baekhyun stuck his tongue out, then flew away quickly as Kyungsoo motioned as if to slap him. "I take my words back. Teasing my lord is lots of fun~" He laughed. "Besides, master is the only one who allows this kind of thing. I would have already been thrown into a cauldron were it anyone else."

Kyungsoo assented. "Good that you know. Now go."

Baekhyun planned on giving him yet another smartpants response, but the look Kyungsoo cast on Chanyeol's eyes showed way too clearly he had become tired of his joking around. With a curtsy, he turned around; in an instant, he disappeared altogether.

Dealing with Baekhyun was always so tiring, he half-wished he had summoned Kai or Sehun instead. On the other hand, Baekhyun was the only one he was sure would not spill the beans about the summoning by mistake, or even if asked by a higher rank official. He was a jokester, but ultimately, he had always followed his orders to a T, and was more loyal to him personally then to the other representatives in the chain of command.

Even with his supernatural speed, it would certainly take Baekhyun some time to come back. Kyungsoo scratched his (Chanyeol's) chin, wondering what he should do. He definitely could not return before the time a human would take to make the round trip, but he did not want to stay idle for two hours either. He decided to go back and observe what the priest was doing. Even if he was just asleep, it would be more interesting than being by himself.

When he reached the place they had parted, Jongdae was no longer there. Hiding behind a bush, he looked around the fringes of the forest, inspecting the patches of shadows left by the trees, but he was not there, either.

He wouldn't have gone far; after all, they were supposed to meet again relatively soon. Kyungsoo thought about the geographical properties of that region. There were not many fruit trees, so it was unlikely he was gathering food ― the priest most likely knew it, which was why he had sent Chanyeol back to get some supplies in the first place. Besides the forest itself, there was only a small pond nearby, fed by a small stream that came straight down the mountains. Thinking Jongdae might have decided to collect some water, Kyungsoo followed the path towards the pond, making sure to stay just enough away not to be noticed by any passersby.

Soon he could hear the sounds of something splashing ― there was indeed someone in the lake. Judging from the noise, it was only one person; whoever it was, they were either swimming or trying to catch fish with their bare hands, because there really was a lot of noise. Kyungsoo took a peek from behind the bushes. On one hand, he was not surprised to see it was indeed the priest. On the other hand... The way he was acting was not very priestly at all.

He had removed all his clothes. It was not the case Kyungsoo could see his full body though. Rather, he had apparently washed his whole outfit, which was now left to dry on one big rock by the margin of the lake. Jongdae, in turn, was standing not far from the rocky edges; he was, at most, chest deep. He stood still. Whenever he wanted to move, however, he would flap his arms with such despair that it would make the noise of ten people.

 _Pfffft_. Kyungsoo had to make a huge effort to hold it together. Was it the case that the priest did not know how to swim?

Carefully hidden behind the thick bushes and under the shadows of some majestic weeping willows, Kyungsoo sat on the grass and continued to observe his target. With him so deep into the water, there was nothing much he could see, but it was fun to watch his poor attempts at swimming. If that was so hard for him, why did he even bother? Kyungsoo then remembered the priest's miserable face from before, then looked at all his clothes hanging on the rock, and put two and two together. Although the conclusion was obvious, another question sprang to his mind.

Wanting to refresh oneself was no shame, so why had the priest insisted so much on sending him away?

He reflected long and seriously about it, losing track of time, all the while having his eyes set on the small figure submerged in the water a couple of meters from him. No matter how he thought about it, there were only two possibilities: either the priest carried something in his body he did not wish others to see ― be it a disability or some type of shameful marking ―, or else...

At that precise moment, Jongdae had grown tired of thrashing in the water and had decided to get out. With him both getting closer and out of the water, Kyungsoo could finally watch him from up close, putting his first hypothesis to the test. There were no marks on his neck, collarbones or arms; nothing on his chest and abdomen; nothing on his shoulder blades; nothing on the sides of his body or his rib cage; nothing on his lower belly or the small of his back; nothing on... well...

"Enjoying yourself, master?"

Fortunately, Kyungsoo had enough control over himself not to scream out loud. Nevertheless, one of his (Chanyeol's) hands rushed to cover his own mouth, just to make sure he would not make any involuntary sound. He then proceeded to look angrily at Baekhyun, flames lighting the back of Chanyeol's eyes. Tiny Baekhyun floated around his head, laughing.

"Here you are." The little man took out a couple of wrapped packages from his pockets and threw them in Chanyeol's lap. They were tiny miniatures while still in his possession, but as soon as they were distant enough from him, they returned to their original size, practically covering Chanyeol's legs from how many they were.

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows. "You didn't say how much you needed!" Baekhyun defended himself, after realizing the kind of look he was getting.

Kyungsoo supposed that was true; besides, common sense was not something to be expected of Baekhyun, so he was the one who should've known better.

After the scare, his eyes searched back for the priest. He had already put his underwear on, but not his pants. Kyungsoo looked carefully at his thighs and calves and ankles, but nothing looked out of the ordinary there either. If that was the case, then he could only think of one reason for the priest to be embarrassed.

He gathered the food into one neat pile, then picked it up with his arms. "What, you're not even going to thank me?!" Baekhyun whined to no avail. Kyungsoo completely ignored him before standing up, circling the bushes where he had hidden and taking the path to the pond a few meters away, where Jongdae could not yet see him.

"Priest-nim? Are you around here?" He said out loud, as if he was truly looking for him. On the rocks, there was a sudden rustling of fabrics. A couple of seconds later, Jongdae emerged from behind one of them, all his undergarments already on.

"You came back fast," he commented, a bit out of breath.

"I came upon some merchants on the road and bought it from them," Kyungsoo tactfully improvised. Then he gave Jongdae a once-over and raised his eyebrows, "were you swimming?"

"I... I was, yeah..." the priest answered, visibly embarrassed.

Now it was time for his second test. He put all the food down next to the rocks where the remaining of Jongdae's clothes were, then proceeded to untie the knot of his own upper garment.

"W-What are you doing?" was the priest's distressed reaction, although physically he seemed to have become petrified.

"I think it is a good idea for me to swim, too."

"B-But!" The tips of the priest's ears were flaming red. Kyungsoo pretended not to notice. "You... Chanyeol's body... I... You're a corpse, so... You don't sweat, nor feel hot or cold, right? Why go through the trouble?"

Having removed his first piece of clothing, Kyungsoo moved on to his undershirt. It was off in a second. "I suppose, but I still walk around in the mud and the dust, and sleep on the grass. It might be a good idea to wash this body thoroughly." Shoes and socks off, it was time for the pants.

In order to avoid losing all his composure, Jongdae had averted his eyes, and only caught what was going on through his peripheral vision. It was enough to make his cheeks turn a slight shade of pink. "But then, w-wouldn't it be better to wash yourself in an inn? We can get you a bath in the next city..."

"I really do not want to trouble you, Priest-nim. Besides, why waste money if it is for free here?"

Fully naked, Kyungsoo moved Chanyeol's body around the rocks and into the water. It was a bit colder than he had imagined; luckily for him, Jongdae had not yet gathered enough courage to look at him, and did not see his shivers. Once he was waist deep, he called out again. "Priest-nim, could I bother you for a favor?"

Jongdae could still not face him, and had instead his back towards him. The distance, however, had allowed him to recover some of his self-control, and when he spoke again, his voice had acquired much of its original serenity, although a hint of embarrassment still suggested itself in his pitch, slightly higher than usual. "What is it?"

"Do you think you could help me wash his hair? There are really a lot of knots; I don't think I can get rid of all of them on my own."

There was a long moment of silence before Jongdae answered. "...Sure," he eventually replied. "But come here, I don't want to get into the water again."

Kyungsoo swam over, while Jongdae put his other clothes away and sat on the edge of rock, his upper body bending over the water. At that place, the lake was already somewhat deep, but not as much as where Kyungsoo had been standing before: the water only covered his lower pelvis, revealing the tip of Chanyeol's hip bones, his muscular torso, his sizeable thick arms. He dipped his head into the water to wet the hair more before making the final steps towards Jongdae. When he looked up, the color on the priest's face was positively the bright red of a tomato.

Jongdae fished for something in his clothes. When he started scrubbing Chanyeol's hair, the tips of his fingers lightly and gently massaging his scalp, Kyungsoo could smell the pleasant scent of soap. For someone so unwilling, he was taking it rather seriously.

The priest worked quietly, brushing his short fingers through the lengthy strands of Chanyeol's hair, untying all the knots he could find with utmost patience. Kyungsoo said nothing, finding it unexpectedly pleasurable to have someone looking over him (or, over the body he was in) with such care.

"So cold," Jongdae said after some time. He stated it matter-of-factly, but there was an undertone to his words; something Kyungsoo was not quite sure how to describe.

"Weren't you swimming in this water just some time ago? It's a natural pond, of course it's cold."

"No, not the water. Your... Chanyeol's body," the priest corrected him. "I... can feel it, in the scalp."

If Chanyeol were a corpse, then of course his body would be cold. Kyungsoo had been careful enough to reproduce that as well. At this point, with how careful Jongdae was being with his hair ― careful enough to untie the knots without pulling the strands out, rubbing the soap as if he was washing a newborn ―, added to how he had reacted to seeing Chanyeol's body, Kyungsoo thought he had enough evidence to confirm his second hypothesis. He had reached his goal. He didn't know why, then, he was feeling like he had done something wrong. Perhaps "guilty" would be the right word.

He dipped his head into the water again to rinse the soap out, then got some more to clean the rest of Chanyeol's body before stepping out of the pond. By the time he had dried himself and got dressed, the priest had also regained his whole attire and was attempting to put away all the food in the one bag he had brought.

"You didn't have to buy so much, Kyungsoo-ssi, considering I'm the only one eating..." It was only a half-assed reproach; not like Jongdae had it in him to be much rougher than that.

Kyungsoo would have never bought such an amount if it had been himself buying either, but he needed an excuse. "I didn't know what you liked."

"Ah." It seemed the priest had not expected that answer, and ran out of words.

Oh, right. He still needed to send Baekhyun away. "Looking at them now, I think I might have dropped another bun on the way... I'm under the impression there was one more. I'll check and be right back."

Jongdae nodded. Even though Chanyeol's arms were long and he could carry a lot of things on them, even for him it must have been troublesome to bring all that food. It was not unlikely that something might have fallen off, and even if they already had plenty of food, more than enough, they definitely should not waste anything unnecessarily.

Kyungsoo ran off the path for some time before he deemed it safe and hid behind some tall bushes. Baekhyun appeared out of thin air in front of him right after.

"I thought master had forgotten about me." Baekhyun pretended to whimper, then deftly dodged Kyungsoo's attempt to finger flick him. "Master, please don't be mean! I waited obediently for a long time, didn't I? Master, you took a really long time just to deliver some snacks!"

Like he would ever believe Baekhyun had not spied on what he had been doing… Kyungsoo would actually be willing to bet both his hands the little devil had found a ringside seat to watch his interactions with the priest.

Now that he had time to reflect upon what had unfolded in the last couple of hours, his understanding of the circumstances he was involved in and the measures that would have to be taken had solidified substantially. Perhaps his summoning of Baekhyun could be put to use in more ways than one.

"Baekhyun, listen to me." Even though he spoke with Chanyeol's voice, the monotone intonation was his own. Baekhyun straightened up at once. "I have a message I would like you to deliver. If anyone asks, tell them this was the official reason I called you here." Baekhyun nodded. "Tell him I found the priest's weakness."

A long time had passed since then. Jongdae had gotten a lot more used to swimming with Kyungsoo observing him, although he would still never get fully naked in front of his eyes. On the other hand, after that one time, Kyungsoo had never bathed Chanyeol's body in the wilderness anymore: Jongdae would always insist he bathed at inns, where they could use proper products to better preserve Chanyeol's body, since corpses were in certain ways more fragile than the bodies of the living.

That first time, Kyungsoo had been too focused on looking for deformities, curse marks or anything of the sort, and had not paid actual attention to the priest's body in any other sense. In later occasions, however, such as the one he found himself at that moment, he had been able to better appreciate the smoothness of his skin, the sparse moles splayed through his body like drops of ink on an empty scroll, the beauty of his bones and muscles dancing under the surface as he flapped in the water and later let himself dry on the rocky edges of rivers and lakes. At times, the priest would even undo his hair knot and let his raven black hair cascade down his back; when he emerged from the water with his wet hair all pushed to the back in one long fall, shining like black jade under the scorching sun, Kyungsoo would catch himself admiring him, momentarily out of words.

On that day, however, Jongdae planned only to go for a quick swim, and therefore had not let his hair get wet.

Kyungsoo splashed Chanyeol's feet in the water, watching their distorted image under the surface. As Jongdae walked deeper into the river, Kyungsoo took a piece of ripped parchment out of a satchel inside his robes and opened it again. He had already read that message more than a hundred times.

 _Do what you must to make him break his vows_ , the message read at some point. There were a couple of other instructions, but that was the one that stuck to his mind the most.

When he first realized back then that the priest had been in love with his lifelong childhood friend Chanyeol, he had realized he had made the worst possible choice of vessel. Yes: on one hand, Jongdae had been attracted to that body, so in principle it was not a matter of not having a compatible candidate to seduce him. More importantly, however, was that Jongdae had been _in love_ with Chanyeol _._ Not just attracted, but possibly in love for years, to the point it might even have been the reason for him joining an Order and opting to become ascetic.

That day, when Kyungsoo got Chanyeol's body undressed in front of him, it had been a shock to the priest indeed. Nonetheless, beyond the initial embarrassment of seeing Chanyeol's naked body potentially for the first time, what had followed had been a couple of days of abyssal depression, in which he had not properly eaten, drunk or slept. Kyungsoo suspected that after an instinctive arousal, the priest had felt profoundly guilty and ashamed of his physical reactions after remembering that body was Chanyeol's no longer.

Therefore, even if he had the perfect body to catch the priest's eye, it was precisely the fact that he had _that_ body that made any attempt at seducing him the more unlikely to succeed.

As he looked at the priest clumsily trying to keeping himself afloat (the water was not even that deep...), his melodious laughs resonating through the valley as he himself realized his folly, Kyungsoo had to make a great effort not to let that one thought, the one he had been avoiding for days now, receive official recognition from his consciousness.

It was like a spider web, the type one knew one would find behind the furniture after seeing some of the spider's legs crawling along the edges, but that one chose not to see ― not to move the furniture around, not even to spy with some light ― because not acknowledging it also meant not having to do anything about it.

This thought was that he was not quite sure anymore whether he still wished for the priest to fail.

🙫

Kyungsoo ran (Chanyeol's body) as fast as he could down the mountain, holding one small child under each of his arms.

Behind him, Jongdae ran as well, almost trampling over his feet as he tried to keep up with Chanyeol's longer legs.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Kyungsoo was slow to anger, but the priest had somehow just done it. Perhaps it was mostly due to the fact Kyungsoo hated to exercise, and was now being forced to sprint down an uneven trail while carrying two weights on each side.

"I'm sorry!" was all Jongdae could say between his huffs. At that moment, breathing was more important than talking.

From where they had come, a thundering roar shook the mountain. The crown of several trees disappeared in the distance, as if something had knocked them down. Something strong. Something angry.

 _Fuck_.

In different circumstances, aka if he had not been inside a human body and was not supposed to only act as a human, Kyungsoo would not have sweat a single drop when dealing with that kind of situation. As it was, however, he did not only have to care for himself, but for Jongdae as well ― and presumably, for the priest's sake, also for those two human children he had insisted on saving. He could not be as reckless as his temperament would have led him to be, nor as bold... nor as violent.

"What happened to the trapping net we had arranged for it?" Kyungsoo asked after a particularly sharp turn. If Chanyeol's feet weren't as large and had not stabilized his turn, he would certainly have slipped downhill.

"... Didn't hold long enough."

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows, although his eyes never left the path he was running on. They had seen the creature before, had calculated exactly how much spiritual power Jongdae had to imbue into the net so that he would have enough time to take care of it. Modesty aside, he hardly doubted he would have miscalculated it. Then he remembered the two unconscious children he was carrying, and things started to fall into place in his mind.

"... The kids."

"What?" Even though he had replied as a question, his distressed tone clearly revealed Kyungsoo's hypothesis was right.

Kyungsoo sighed.

Ignoring Jongdae's feigned innocence, he continued, "What happened?"

The priest panted a little behind him, but they had finally reached some flat ground, so he was not as breathless. "I had tied it in the net, but then I noticed these two children had been left behind and were hiding behind the well..."

"..."

"..."

"... And you thought that was the best moment to have them come out?"

"Well, not exactly, but I didn't want them to see me getting rid of the creature either. It'd be a frightful sight for them."

Both of them completely ignored the dreadful cries that had been following them down the path, getting closer by the second. "So you thought it'd be better for them to die than to see some monster blood?"

"No!" Jongdae exclaimed, not quite offended, but rather in a hurry to explain himself. "I thought I could convince them to look away, but they couldn't stop staring... I kept talking to them and lost track of time..."

"Did they faint when they realized the monster had gotten free?"

"No..." Jongdae's voice sounded slightly ashamed. "I stunned them when I saw the net snapping..."

The priest seemed regretful, but for Kyungsoo, that had been the single good decision he had taken that night.

They had finally reached the foot of the mountain. Trees were sparser; on the left side of the road, instead of the densely packed forest from before, a short grassy field stretched for about 100 meters, where it was then cut short by a bed of bulky rocks that separated it from a river. Jongdae looked at Kyungsoo, then at the kids in Chanyeol's arms and back at him. Their communication had become rather effective after the almost two months they had been traveling together, so no verbal communication was needed. Jongdae ran towards the field, whereas Kyungsoo went in the opposite direction, re-entering the woods on the other side of the trail.

Jongdae positioned himself some meters ahead in the field, giving himself some extra time to react, and waited.

It did not take long for the monster to reach the bottom of the mountain path. Noticing the change in scenery, it stopped as soon as the trees on its left disappeared, seeming a little disoriented. Jongdae removed his ringed staff from his back, at the same time reaching for the talisman satchel hanging on his waist. As he waited for it to notice him, he took the opportunity to observe it a little more. After all, it was not every day that one came across a Monster of Haught.

Despite its humanoid appearance, the monster had never been human; it had been originally a simple object, like a book, an incense burner, or even a simple paper weight. Typically, this kind of creature rose from an environment wealthy with pride: most often than not, the houses of political leaders or local nobility. Depending on one's ego, even a backwater chief's residence might be enough, provided the people circulating thought highly enough of themselves. The object would then slowly absorb those prideful beliefs, until it gained a conscience of its own and was able to morph into a humanoid shape. Although it thought of itself as above all others, objects or living beings, as fruit of human desires, it wished to be human too ― hence its humanoid appearance, and its particular taste for human flesh (most especially, brains).

It stood on two legs, had a torso and two arms, but the proportions were all a bit wrong: the limbs were usually too long, making it walk on all fours, like a monkey. Its hands resembled more the claws of a wolf, as did its fangs, jutting out of its mouth for almost a forearm's length. It wore an improvised vest made of sheets, or perhaps that had been someone's robes once, before it was ragged and awkwardly tied around the creature's body. Its long violet hair spiked messily from the back of its head till it almost reached the ground, dirty and covered with moss, twigs and crashed insects.

The monster looked towards the woods, as if it had heard something; but Jongdae was quick to scream at it, thus calling its attention towards him. All it took was one quick look before it sprang in Jongdae's direction, sticking a long, pointy tongue out of its bloodied mouth.

When it was close enough, Jongdae tossed two talismans in its direction, then three more on the ground. The creature screamed when the fire talismans on its face and torso caught on fire. As the smoke talismans on the ground momentarily blinded it, the priest took the opportunity to run towards the other side. He just had to keep it busy till Kyungsoo came back.

 _I've grown lazy... I've been relying too much on his aid_ , he thought to himself with a smile.

He kept on repeating the same moves, driving the creature around in a circle throughout the field. He had done it three more times when Chanyeol's body finally resurfaced from within the woods, not sweating nor out of breath because, well, he was a corpse after all, which at that moment had its advantages. While the smoke was still covering the monster's sight and preventing it from running towards him, Jongdae threw a handful of talismans to Kyungsoo and pointed towards the river bank. He picked the talismans easily enough and put them away inside his robes before his eyes moved to where Jongdae indicated; in an instant he understood what the priest meant and nodded, running in that direction alongside the fringe of the forest.

The smoke had just dissipated by then, and the creature was once more looking all over in search of its prey. Jongdae shook his staff and the rings at its top clinked together. The clash of metal brought the monster's attention back to him.

While he was diverting the monster before, Jongdae had taken the opportunity to also stamp seals on the ground at strategic locations using the bottom point of his staff. He had already made four out of the five markings he needed; the last one was in the direction Chanyeol was running towards at that moment, so he needed to wait a bit before moving there.

When the creature started sprinting in his direction, he reached once more for the talismans in his satchel ― and only then did he notice he had given Chanyeol one too many fire talismans. He normally did not use them much, so he did not carry that many on him to begin with. Anyhow, it was not as if he had much time to think, with the monster's claws digging dip into the earth and getting closer by the second. With a quick motion of his hand, he threw the fire and smoke talismans he still had at the creature again, and hoped it would work.

The monster cried in pain once again, its sight hindered by the masses of black clouds. Jongdae was about to sigh in relief when the howl suddenly came to a stop a lot sooner than before. The priest had already run to another position, his own vision still blocked by the smoke, so he did not know for sure what was happening. He could guess, however, that the lack of the last talisman most likely meant the burning lasted less and was a lot less intense than the previous times. Besides, at that point the monster had started to get a hang of their exchanges, perhaps even understood their pattern; it knew what to expect, so there was a chance it might act differently too. Jongdae gathered his spiritual power and waited, observing carefully.

When the smoke finally dissipated... It had run away!

Since the smoke was mostly concentrated where he threw the talismans, it would cover the creature's front and sides quite effectively, but not so much of what was behind it. While it wriggled in pain from the burns, that was not much of a problem, since the monster could not focus on looking for a way out. This time, however, the flames had stopped some while ago; besides, Jongdae, who had been watching the scene with utmost attention, hadn't seen anything emerge from the clouds ― which must mean the monster had escaped through the other side, to where Kyungsoo was!

As his vision finally cleared, he could see that was indeed the case: the humanoid creature, running on all fours, had detected human movement behind it and moved immediately to its source. Chanyeol's eyes, in turn, were fixed on the rocks in the river bank. It seemed he had not yet realized Jongdae was not entertaining their 'guest' as before.

Jongdae screamed at Kyungsoo, but he was too far away for his voice to reach Chanyeol's ears, and the creature appeared to be too interested in its next meal to pay him any mind. He quickly made a seal with his hands, imparting some spiritual energy to his feet. He ran faster than the wind, sliding on the grass almost like he was walking on water, his light steps leaving no footprints. He screamed Kyungsoo's name once more, and this time, the man noticed.

Chanyeol's eyes widened as he quickly jumped back one step, putting himself behind the first row of trees. The monster's claws were already in the air and came down fast; if not for the tree trunk in front of him absorbing the attack, Chanyeol's body would have been slashed open. His swift steps made it seem like he was dancing around the trees, waving his way between them in smooth motions. Each tree he hid behind would soon be chopped down and fall with a loud boom to the side, so rhythmically that the echoes in the valley might be mistaken for slow-paced beats on a drum.

Still much farther than he wished to be, Jongdae observed the trees toppling down with an aching heart. Even using his spiritual energy, he felt like his legs couldn't run fast enough; with each attack the creature unleashed, images of gashed bodies emerged in his mind, for some reason a lot more terrifying than ever before. Still, it only took him a few more seconds to reach the path of destruction the monster had built amongst the trees. With no caution, he raised his index finger and from it discharged a single ray of light.

Although the stream was as thin as a needle, the power it contained was intense. It went through the monster right at its knee, creating a hole the size of an olive at its back. The creature wailed and turned back, enraged.

Now it was Jongdae's turn to run.

When he got back to the field, the monster was right at his heels. As he did not have time to escape, Jongdae had no option but to fight. The monster attacked him with one of his arms, its claws aimed directly at his head, and Jongdae dodged to the side; right afterwards, however, the other arm came down as well, and this time the priest wielded his staff, imbuing it with spiritual power before using it to hold the deformed hand a couple of centimeters away from his eyes.

With a minute gesture from one of his fingers, the staff suddenly shone bright, the rings on its end floating as if underwater. The creature screamed and let go, a deep cut appearing where it had been holding the staff a second earlier. At that moment, to anyone who was not Jongdae, holding that staff would be the same as holding a sword ― except it was sharp at almost all angles.

Wounded and hungry, the monster was not about to give in. After all, it was essentially formed from prideful emotions; the more its pride was hurt, the more defeated it felt, the more vicious it became. Even though black blood dropped from its right hand, it still used both of them to attack. Because of its distress, however, the pattern of its strikes was not more erratic. Jongdae had dodged easily at first, but now it almost felt like fighting a drunk man: the priest had to rely less of his five senses and more on his instinct, which was terribly dangerous.

Still, none of the monster's attacks landed on him. Sometimes he dodged with a lot of room left, sometimes its claw came as close as only a hair’s breadth away. Whenever he could, Jongdae would swing his staff and hit it wherever he could reach: its legs, its torso, its arms, its feet. After a couple of minutes had passed, the creature became a mess of holes and cuts, dripping blood all over, the tips of its violet hair stained black.

By now, Jongdae had grown tired. It was not often that he would have to keep energy continuously flowing through his staff like that; besides, earlier he had to use a concentrated energy ray instead of a simple palm blast in order not to risk hurting Kyungsoo, and focusing all that power into such a thin tube required a lot more energy than if he had simply exploded light from all the pores in his body. From the original six rings that would have been floating in his staff, only three remained, the other half hanging from the metal frame as usual.

He was still looking at the rings, slightly alarmed, when an unexpected attack hit him on his right calf ― he had been paying attention to the monster's arms, but it had used one of its legs! Although the claws on its feet were not as long nor as sharp and had only grazed against him, since the creature had actually used its instep to kick him, pain still flared through his leg from the sheer strength of the impact.

Jongdae did not have time to feel pain: not a second after a second blow came at him, now from above. Instead of blocking it with his staff again, the priest simply lifted his hand and blasted an explosion from his left palm.

The monster stumbled a few steps behind, a bloody mess of flesh dangling where there had previously been a right arm. Black blood spotted Jongdae's face; he wiped the bit that had fallen on his lips with one of his sleeves and raised his staff again.

Just as he was about to slash the creature in half, he heard the sound of a heavy object flying through the air. He stepped away just in time for a huge rock, almost the size of a bucket, to crash against the monster's head, knocking it over. Besides the dull sound of its huge body falling down on the ground, there was also a sizzling noise and the smell of burnt meat. When Jongdae circled the body in front of him, he saw that the bottom of the rock had been heated up to the point its surface was shining red, melting the creature's face on the spot.

He turned around. As expected, Chanyeol's body stood a few feet behind him.

"Kyungsoo-ssi," he moved around and reduced the distance between them, "are you okay?"

It had naturally been him who had thrown that rock; that had been Jongdae's instruction to him from the beginning, giving him the talismans to heat it up, as a hot rock to the head was the only way to get rid of a Monster of Haught. Nevertheless, that rock had been rather large in size, and had been heated almost to its melting point. Jongdae didn't even know how he did it ― his talismans were not that strong. His main worry at that moment, however, was that they were still quite distant from the river, meaning Kyungsoo had to carry such a heavy rock all the way himself.

"I'm fine," he answered. Kyungsoo's took Jongdae's worry quite naturally. After all, it was Chanyeol's body he was using, and Jongdae had taken responsibility over it; if it was spoiled under his gaze, not only would the Parks blame him, but he would also most likely feel sad seeing the body of the person he loved being damaged. "Chanyeol's arms are quite strong, so it wasn't hard."

Jongdae was not listening to him anymore though. The priest had approached him, one hand hovering towards his face. "A cut..."

Ah. When the monster made its first move, Kyungsoo had not quite positioned himself well yet; the force of the slash had traveled through the air and left a small horizontal cut on his left cheek, shallow enough not to drip blood, but deep enough that it was visible ― a thin red line drawn on his face.

"Sorry for harming this body," Kyungsoo mumbled.

What followed was a slap ― Jongdae had hit Chanyeol’s forehead with one of his hands.

"Don't be silly!" His tone was both gentle and severe, like a parent reprimanding a son. "Anything that happens, we can fix this body later. Kyungsoo-ssi, are _you_ ok?"

Kyungsoo was startled. He had not expected the priest to be worried about him at all.

"Well, you see..." he raised his eyebrows, "I'm a corpse, so technically... I don't really feel pain."

Apparently Jongdae had forgotten that one important detail, from the way his eyes widened in embarrassment. Kyungsoo let out a loud laugh, then quickly stopped when he heard it resonate in Chanyeol's voice. He hadn't laughed that much so far in that body, so the sound was still foreign to him.

"I... had forgotten," Jongdae admitted, his cheeks flushed pink. "But I'm glad you are not in pain," he added, smiling.

Kyungsoo was startled once again, now by Jongdae's smile directed at him. He averted his eyes, focusing instead on the huge body in front of them.

"So what should we do now?"

"Let's make a fire and burn it."

"Won't that take too long?"

"It's not as difficult as burning a real human, since he's not really human after all," Jongdae explained. "After the outer carcass is consumed by the fire, its interior is quite hollow. You'll be impressed." They had already started walking towards the forest to gather wood when Jongdae remembered. "The children?"

"I left them in a small cave nearby. Don't worry, it's safe enough that wild animals can't reach them there."

Jongdae nodded. Since he had been the one to stun them, he was quite sure they would not wake up for another three or four hours at least.

As they started gathering withered branches and twigs on the forest floor, the priest bent down and was suddenly reminded of the staff on his back. After they finished the creature off, before he had stopped the flow of energy into his staff, only two rings had remained. That was bad, to say the least. Such a pitiful, weak creature as a Monster of Haught should have required less from him; that he was unable to control his spiritual powers and had spent them so frivolously was worrisome.

He was not anxious about his spiritual levels diminishing or anything of that sort, though; he knew what had happened, and why.

He had lost control back then, when the monster caught sight of Kyungsoo.

Thinking about it, he couldn't stop his heart from beating louder on his chest. The way he had felt when the thought of the monster killing Kyungsoo crossed his mind... The fear had bubbled from the bottom of his feet to every last strand of his hair, almost drowning him. He had not realized what that feeling was at that moment; something akin to despair had taken over him, and he had acted without much thought. That he had managed to exert such control as to manipulate the blast from his finger had been nothing short of a miracle.

The priest shook his head as he picked the branches. He could not let that happen again. He could _not_ lose control. What would his master have felt seeing him in such a situation? Surely he would be hugely disappointed.

Jongdae had trained for too many years to develop mastery of his emotions and spiritual power for it to slip so easily between his fingers. Why had that happened?

The only two occasions such control had wavered had been when he found out about Chanyeol's passing... And now.

Chanyeol's passing... Was a more complicated situation. That moment right there, though ― why had he felt it so intensely? He glanced at Kyungsoo, picking wood a couple of meters from him. It was Chanyeol's body that was moving, but weirdly, for Jongdae it had been growing harder and harder not to see him as just... Kyungsoo.

They were such unique people. Even though their faces were the same, the way they walked, sat, talked, frowned, smiled ― simply _everything_ was different. Before he became a monk, while still living in the village... Chanyeol's smile, his loud laugh, his sparkly eyes, his exaggerated actions, the way he would throw himself on the floor every time he thought something was funny, his passions towards his hobbies... All his actions, every little part of his being had been one more reason Jongdae found to be alive.

When the still young Jongdae realized the nature of his feelings, he knew he had to leave. No one was closer to Chanyeol than he was, which was why he just knew there was no way he'd be reciprocated.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, was to Chanyeol like water to wine. His smiles were much rarer. He was much more composed. Unlike Chanyeol, whose every thought and feeling could be seen on his face, Kyungsoo was an opaque surface, letting very little be known. His words were numbered; his enthusiasm was more like water gradually boiling than sheer explosion. During the first weeks they had traveled together, he had been more compliant, never questioning or answering him back; now, however, he would voice his opinions a lot more often, displaying a rather obstinate personality. Chanyeol's sense of humor was childish, bordering on silly at times; Kyungsoo's, on the other hand, tended to be quite dark. Jongdae had come to really depend on him too: somehow, Kyungsoo showed a good comprehension of the spiritual world and was a lot more dexterous than clumsy Chanyeol. At some moment, Jongdae had simply started to factor him in when sketching his plan of action for any job.

In spite of all those differences, the greatest of them all was their eyes. If Chanyeol's felt like a window that reflected the sky above him, shining and full of sparkles and life, Kyungsoo's were like a bottomless well, a profound darkness that nevertheless was enticing, luring him in, daring him to let himself fall.

Each, in their own way, had their charm, and each had made Jongdae feel an unfamiliar itch in his soul, a nameless desire.

Jongdae frowned. He had not noticed up to that point that his feelings for Kyungsoo had changed such in the period they had been traveling together. If he were to be honest, he was not quite sure the way he had felt about Chanyeol before and the way he felt for Kyungsoo now were the same. The circumstances were too different for a comparison to be so clearly drawn.

Perhaps he was thinking too much. Perhaps it was just that he had grown too used to being alone, to traveling the kingdom by himself, that now that he had someone to keep him company all day and all the time, that presence had become just too precious, but without any further implications.

Yes, that must be it.

He raised his eyes at Kyungsoo, reminded once more that he was a spirit inhabiting Chanyeol's body. The moment Kyungsoo was able to finally remember what his life goal was and Jongdae helped him accomplish it, the spirit would be able to move on to the afterlife, maybe even reincarnate right after since he had been on Earth for so long. That was the only future possible for him.

Kyungsoo gazed back at him, a huge heap of twigs and branches of all different sizes on his arms.

"Priest-nim, have we gotten enough?"

He nodded. "Yes, these are enough." And then, almost as an afterthought: "Kyungsoo-ssi, please call me by my name."


	4. Chapter 4

They sat by the fire on the edge of the road, although at that point it was difficult to discern what was road and what was wilderness: all around them, extending for a couple of miles in every direction, the vegetation had been either burnt to its roots or withered away, resulting in a vast expense of dried, hard land. Despite the feeling they were in the middle of nowhere, they knew there was a village some distance to the south, since they had come from there; and they knew what had caused the destruction all around them, because they had seen it happening.

He and the priest had finally caught up to the spirit and followed it there.

Considering the evidence from all its previous attacks, they knew what to expect. Nevertheless, not even such knowledge had been able to prepare them, most especially Jongdae, for seeing the creature in flesh. Its massive form outlined against the bright red evening sky was the very definition of a nightmare; larger than any other the priest had ever witnessed, and not something to be belittled even for Kyungsoo's standards. The creature made no effort to hide its trail. When the sun rose and it stopped to rest, the two of them went a couple of miles away in order to set a safe distance between them and give them time to prepare. When they were ready to strike, they ought to have a plan.

Kyungsoo had convinced the priest to sleep for a bit first, reasoning he would be able to think better once his body had recovered from exhaustion. Hence, Jongdae had laid down on his worn mat, a piece of black fabric covering his eyes, for a good part of the morning and early afternoon. When he woke up, he had something to eat from their rations, and it was only now, with evening fast approaching, that they had started discussing what they would do.

The conversation was repetitive, but followed the same recurring pattern: Jongdae coming up with ludicrous ideas, followed by Kyungsoo telling him they were impossible and that they were walking to their deaths.

Truth be told, it was not the case that Jongdae was stupid or that his ideas were that bad. Rather, it was the case that almost _any_ idea would be bad to Kyungsoo given the circumstances. That situation would be hard to deal with even for non-mortals. Jongdae was most likely stronger than many Hell officials, but there were still limits to his powers. Heck, not even with the help of Kyungsoo's limited powers in this vessel did he think they could win.

Nonetheless, Jongdae was truly a martyr in his heart, prepared to do everything or die trying. Seeing that the priest was not willing to let go no matter what he said, Kyungsoo decided to help him pick the plan with the least bad strategy out of all he had come up with.

He decided something else, too ― a decision that would have been life-changing for himself (if he had a life in human terms).

He decided he would not stand passive.

🙫

Kyungsoo really did not mind when they came across monsters, goblins, or other types of magical creatures. If he were to be honest and was absolutely sure Jongdae wouldn't hear it, he would even confess he felt some pleasure in killing the evil ones, in releasing Earth of their wretchedness. Despite any misguided preconceptions, he valued morality and justice as highly as the most saintlike person one could find ― although for human standards the methods he was willing to employ in order to enforce them would be considered immoral themselves.

In his opinion, that was just humanity's short-sighted conceptions of right and wrong. That the Hell Realm existed was taken as natural; that people should be punished for their mistakes was thought of not only as adequate but also necessary. In theory, no human theologists had ever argued against the afterlife treatment criminals received. And yet, the common people would often depict Hell officials as evil and criminals as their victims, even though they were only implementing procedures everyone seemed to agree with.

Complete nonsense.

Anyhow, as a Hell official himself, Kyungsoo appreciated freeing the Human Realm of these spawns of evil. Unlike Jongdae, who would always try to exterminate them swiftly and painlessly, and who would sometimes suffer from a guilty conscience whenever these creatures showed some sentience, for Kyungsoo there was no moral conflict involved. Evil was to be met with evil. Even goodness had to be met with evil sometimes...

When it came to human spirits and Jongdae's treatment of them, however... Kyungsoo couldn't help but mind.

After all, that had been the reason he came to the Human Realm in the first place.

When they finally reached the destination they had set out from the Park's residence for, Jongdae quickly caught hold of news of a malicious spirit that had been tormenting the region.

It had been some time since he last performed this kind of exorcism. Although Jongdae himself thought it was merely a coincidence and did not dwell on it much, it was in fact not a simple coincidence at all.

For the last couple of weeks, Kyungsoo had been anticipating their steps and acquiring information through his privileged connections; whenever possible, he had suggested they take a different path, go to another place first, effectively steering Jongdae away from encounters with human spirits ― especially the bad ones. There was no good reason for them not to go to the very place they had planned on going since the beginning, though, which was why Kyungsoo had not been able to prevent that information from reaching the priest's ears as soon as they arrived.

Just like in Chanyeol's case, Jongdae's first move was to assess the context of the alleged possession. They went together to a tiny village at the foot of a mountain to inquire after the family of the deceased. This time, the situation was less controversial: the house's youngest daughter had been dead for almost half a week when they had found her, her body already in a rather unfortunate condition after being attacked by some mountain beast. They had been undertaking preparations for her burial when her body had suddenly jumped from her coffin and run away.

After that, one could say it had very closely followed the handbook of possession behavior: it attacked a few people on the road (and managed to kill one), destroyed some street stalls, kicked some doors, and apparently even broke one of its limbs in a self-served act of aggression. Witnesses told the priest the body slipped in and out of consciousness like waves on the beach, although as time passed it had grown increasingly more and more unstable, to the point it was currently in a state of almost permanent madness.

There was no doubt this was indeed a case of regular possession, which meant the way forward was pretty clear.

Since they were in a rather remote area, however, Jongdae thought one step further, and questioned the villagers about that spirit's words whenever it was able to consciously speak: did it talk in a specific way? Did it say anything that could give away its identity? Did it remind them of anyone?

The priest had not found the answer he was looking for at this first village, but in the next one there was a more promising lead: someone who had encountered the possessed body told him the spirit kept mentioning wealth and riches, piles of coins, mountains of gold. Had someone rich recently passed away that they knew of, Jongdae asked. A young master from a merchant's household a little farther north, someone said, but was then ushered to shut up. Kyungsoo and the priest exchanged a look ― Jongdae from where he had been sitting at the counter, Kyungsoo from where he stood by the door. Minutes later, Chanyeol's body approached their potential informer and, after some whispering, slid something shiny onto his hands. The man got up and followed him outside right after.

Kyungsoo took him to a deserted alley behind the tavern. They waited a bit until Jongdae joined them; only then did the man start to talk.

Apparently, the reason no one wanted to talk about it, or have anyone else opening their mouths, was because the influence that merchant's family had on the local economy was quite substantial. Except for the family involved, it was an open secret amongst locals that the young master's death was the consequence of his own twisted actions.

The patriarch of the family had been on his deathbed for a couple of months; hence inheritance had become a relevant matter. He had two sons; naturally, the older one was to succeed him as head of the family. The two brothers did not have a good relationship with each other, however, and the younger brother ― the one who died ― knew he was most likely going to become a simple errand boy for his brother and could not stand that idea.

He had planned on getting his own brother killed, but his plans fell through midway and he was the one who ended up being killed instead. Despite their bad relationship, the older brother did not wish to tarnish the reputation of his younger sibling for the rest of their family, and therefore had given them a different explanation of what had happened.

Jongdae asked the man one last question regarding the merchant's house whereabouts, and they left.

The case was straightforward enough: the source of the spirit's resentment was greed. Although, from the reports they heard, the spirit was not able to maintain its control over the body it had possessed for a long duration of time, still it seemed it had been making its way back to its original home considering its path of destruction so far. Jongdae reasoned they were bound to meet it if they followed that same route, so that's what they did.

It was dark on the way, the moon only an arched slit of white hovering amongst an infinite dusting of stars. They walked side by side. Every now and then, Jongdae's shoulder would rub against Chanyeol's arm; they would both move away from each other, sometimes with an apology, sometimes without, but it wouldn't take long before their steps grew closer again, albeit not out of a conscious decision.

In fact, _that_ was something both of them preferred not to think about.

Halfway through, they spotted a cloaked figure some distance ahead. The person was walking alone, but they knew it was not who they were looking for: besides being clearly a male body, his steps were vigorous and systematic, much unlike a corpse. That, added to the staff the person was carrying on his back, and their head-to-toe black outfit, allowed them to deduce which kind of person they had just crossed paths with.

Another priest.

As if feeling their eyes on him, the man stopped and looked back. In fact, he remained still in the same place until they finally reached him a few minutes later.

"Greetings," the man said with a deep bow. He waited for the two of them to finish their own bow before continuing. "My name is Kim Minseok. I'm from the Xiumin Order of Gyeonggi. May I bother you for your identity?" Although he was not impolite to Kyungsoo, it was rather obvious who he was interested in.

"Of course, Kim Minseok-ssi." Jongdae bent his head once more. "I'm also from Gyeonggi, but from the Zhongda Order. My name's Kim Jongdae." He gestured towards Chanyeol's body. "This is Kyungsoo. We are traveling together."

Since they were strangers, naturally, Minseok did not expect any more explanation than that. He simply nodded towards the both of them. "I know your order ― up in the mountains, is it not? To be honest, I couldn't stand the cold." He smiled. "A pleasure".

Jongdae smiled back. "Likewise."

Kyungsoo just gave him a small nod.

The three of them hesitated in silence for a second before Minseok took the lead and started walking again. "May I ask you what you're doing in such a remote place?"

His tone was neither aggressive nor suspicious, so Jongdae felt it was safe to answer. "We're looking for a corpse that has been causing some trouble around here. We have reason to believe it might be moving towards this area."

"I see." Minseok scratched his chin. "Hm, I wonder if that has any relation to my own purpose here."

"What would that be?"

"We received a request from a wealthy family that lives close by. It seemingly has something to do with a recently deceased young master."

Jongdae's brows moved up in surprise. "Oh! Kim Minseok-ssi, I believe we are looking for the same person!" Then he frowned. "Is it the case you were hired for this job? If so, by all means, we do not mean to claim authorship over the deed once it’s done. We would kindly ask you to let us help, though."

The other priest chuckled. "Don't worry; it's not a paid job. They asked my order for aid and even offered a large sum of money to cut in line of other requests, but we never accept payment for this kind of service. Still, since they seemed so desperate, I decided to come by myself."

"That's very generous of you."

"Nothing of that sort." He laughed. "I was just bored."

The two priests exchanged a couple more questions about each other according to etiquette: their age, how long they had been active for, their seniority within their orders, and some other smaller details. It was then that they found Minseok was slightly older, but only by a couple of years; except for that, their rank was quite similar, which allowed them to continue to treat one another as equals ― there was no need to change their degree of formality.

After that they walked in silence, following the path up the hill.

"Jongdae-ssi," the other priest called after some time, "would you mind telling me what you know about this case? The family's request was quite vague. It felt like they did not want to go into details in a letter..."

"Most people we came across were not willing to talk, either," Jongdae concurred.

Instead of continuing, he looked expectantly at Kyungsoo. A sigh left Chanyeol's mouth. He was not at all surprised; lately, the priest had been enjoying making him the one to give explanations whenever they were too lengthy and troublesome.

It was indeed the case that Jongdae was doing it on purpose. From his perspective, however, it was just that Kyungsoo looked so radiant when he was able to show off- hm, rather, to _demonstrate_ his knowledge, that Jongdae couldn't help giving him the opportunity to do so whenever the situation arose. Besides, he was truly good with his words, and explained everything thoroughly and concisely.

"The deceased was the younger brother of two," he started, staring straight ahead. Nevertheless, Minseok and Jongdae were focused on him (albeit with differing intentions), and did not avert their eyes from him for a single moment while he provided an account of what had happened, as according to their sources. "Hence, despite his current inability to control the body he's in, we believe at some subconscious level the corpse still feels attracted towards his family house. Perhaps hostility towards the older brother as well."

"I see..." Minseok stroke his chin. "Essentially resentful energy, then. It's no surprise the current patriarch is determined to keep this story under wraps. While not unheard of, fratricide, even if only an attempt, is still a profoundly shameful stain on a family name."

"Even more so considering he intended to rise to nobility," Kyungsoo apathetically pointed out.

"Don’t you think it might just be that he loved his brother and doesn't want to taint his image?" Jongdae suggested. The other two did not look too impressed. "Not the only reason, but... perhaps part of it?"

Kyungsoo had already grown used to that kind of naïve optimism and, therefore, answered nothing. As Minseok had not known Jongdae for more than an hour at most, however, he felt more compelled to make a remark.

"I would say human history unfortunately indicates that is the less likely possibility, Jongdae-ssi."

Jongdae, throughout his life, had also grown used to having his positive outlook on life and others scorned, so Minseok's reaction was actually quite mild. He smiled dispiritedly at the other priest and did not say anything else.

The walk from the city to the merchant family's residence took about two and a half hours. They had met Minseok roughly in the middle of their journey, which meant they still had a little over an hour left to go. Their new companion had seemed talkative at first, but now they both reconsidered that it might just actually be that he was curious; once introductions were made and useful information was exchanged, he had turned quiet, although walking by their side and keeping his pace the same as theirs.

It was a comfortable silence, though ― like they had known each other for a long time and there was no pressure to make small talk. Kyungsoo thought Jongdae seemed to be in a particularly good mood. Was he that happy simply from having met a fellow professional?

If Kyungsoo were to think about it, indeed that had been the first time since they started traveling together that they came across another priest. It was to be expected, since both their destination and the route he had been leading them to take kept them away from larger towns, which tended to be the major sources of jobs and income for the Orders ― conducting burials, blessing houses and business establishments, aiding in childbirth, and so forth. There were typically more requests than available priests, which made it quite unlikely that any group would be sent on assignments too far away, and there were very few priests who were skilled enough to travel by themselves. Going that far into the countryside as they were now ― it would only be considered if they were called in or if a case became renowned enough that the Orders felt compelled to intervene.

Jongdae was actually a very peculiar case... And it might just be that Minseok was one as well.

After some time, they finally came upon some buildings ― small cottages that most likely signaled the outer boundary of the family's property. It was already considerably late and the windows were dark, so they chose not to disturb the owners and kept moving forward.

"Their doors are locked," Jongdae observed, tone of voice calm and composed, "it's better if it stays that way."

He did not need to point it out any clearer, since it was evident for the other two as well: there was movement in the woods to their left.

They continued their way up the track, still moving rather unhurriedly, their ears attentive to the rustling noises coming from the forest. A normal person may consider the possibility of it being a wild beast, perhaps a hog or a more nocturnal animal like a wolf, a fox, or even a tiger if they were truly unlucky. The irregular pattern of the sounds, however, indicated that wasn't the case to anyone experienced enough. Most species that were active at night were much stealthier to begin with; but, more importantly, no one had ever heard of any type of beast that produced that kind of hopping and dragging sound, low thumps followed by something being dragged over the dried leaves of early autumn on the ground.

Still, they knew to be patient. A creature such as that possessed corpse was at a point ― it barely had any trace of conscience left, and was most likely behaving purely on instinct. That meant it could recognize the danger they represented even in its state of insanity, and would not attack or come close unless a stronger feeling prompted it to do so: fear, despair, hunger... or desire.

"Do you think the new patriarch is here?" Kyungsoo asked Jongdae as they spotted larger buildings looming ahead, some of the windows revealing the faint light of candles inside.

Minseok answered instead of him. "He must be. They were informed I was coming, and the patriarch was the one who made the official request."

Chanyeol's body snorted. That, of course, was no guarantee. It would be extremely discourteous for the patriarch of the family not to be there to receive the Order's official emissary, but it was not impossible. Besides, lots of people did not care much for etiquette in the first place these days.

Their new companion blushed slightly at Kyungsoo's rudeness.

"I believe he is as well," Jongdae remedied the situation before Minseok could react. "He knows he is his brother's likely target, and that his brother would likely be coming to this place. If he intends to keep this ordeal a secret, he needs to get this over with before the news reaches the rest of his family." He gazed at Minseok. "They needed you to dispatch the brother's soul to the other realm, not really to control the corpse. If it's just one corpse, and they have enough manpower, they can cut its arms and legs and tie it up till we arrive." He frowned. "Of course, dismembering someone else's body would bring problems of its own, but it can be done if necessary. Especially if they know there's a priest around to clean up after their mess."

The other priest looked horrified. It was not that uncommon an occurrence once one left the main roads, though; Jongdae had seen that and plenty more in his trips around the Kingdom. It was really fortunate they had arrived at that region before the corpse. The poor girl whose body had been possessed and her family had already suffered enough.

For some time, they had been walking next to a short stone wall on their left, about waist high; on the other side of said fence were at first rather small houses, most likely servants' or farmers'. Soon these had been replaced by bigger constructions, which got larger as the outer wall also grew taller: they could see only the pointy roofs on the other side now, most likely from communal spaces like an inn or a temple, the lit windows they had seen from up the hill no longer visible. Just a few more meters and they reached a wooden gate, already closed due to the late hour.

Minseok advanced and knocked heavily on the doors.

"Who comes there?" A male voice asked on the other side.

"We're from the Xiumin Order," he answered simply. "We are here on the family's request."

There was a minute of silence, followed by some rattle as the wooden latch was lifted and the gate opened.

On the other side stood a man dressed in fine clothing, but not as refined as a noble; he was also an elder, although his vitality and overall well-maintained complexion indicated he most likely had lived a comfortable life up to that age. Based on the priests' previous experiences, he was most likely a counselor or advisor of some sort.

"Priests, welcome. We apologize for making you wait outside for so long." He bowed. "This humble servant's name is Lee Jungnam. On behalf of the Yonsa Ha family, I express our deepest gratitude for your aid in this troublesome matter."

"Please, do not trouble yourself, Lee Jungnam-ssi." Minseok took the lead once more. "My name is Kim Minseok, and these are Kim Jongdae and Kyungsoo." They bowed ― the priests a lot more than just the head nod Kyungsoo gave him, though. "We are glad to be of help."

The man moved aside, gesturing for them to come in. "Please ― you've stayed outside for too long. The patriarch has already withdrawn to his chambers; I shall wake him up at once."

The same thought crossed the minds of those three: that thing moving in the woods. Would it be better to deal with it that night? Would it still be there the following day? Would it go into hiding, or would it attack those villagers that lived on the edges of the property or on the outer fringes of the defense walls?

The priests would very much like a shot of soju (maybe a bottle) and to settle on a warm bed for the night, but that seemed too pressing a matter to postpone. They did not wish for any more casualties.

"We are sorry to bother, but please take us to him," Jongdae pleaded.

With a discreet smile, the man sent the guards ahead, then motioned for them to follow him.

The path between the buildings was broad, the stones sanded till their surface was perfectly smooth to the point a glass of water could be carried on a cart over them without any risk of spilling. Now inside the fortification, they realized the property was much larger than they expected, most likely the size of an average village, certainly bigger than Jongdae and Chanyeol's hometown. Most of the lights were already out, except for the lanterns outside the houses that fenced the main street they were in. Here and there, curious eyes spied on them in the darkness.

"Are the people in the village aware of... the _nature_ of the problem that has been afflicting the area?" Minseok inquired as they slowly made their way into the main square.

"They know there is a violent corpse," Jungnam confided carefully, "and the sharpest ones might have realized it appeared around the time the young master passed away. We have not revealed that fact to anyone apart from a select few."

"Yet you revealed it to us easily enough," Kyungsoo deadpanned.

Since Chanyeol's body was so tall and bulky and his voice so low, his message came across with the hint of a threat. Jongdae wondered whether that had been intentional.

"I trust that skilled priests such as your masters," the expression on Chanyeol's face tightened, "would have surely investigated the situation in the city before coming here. Am I wrong?" He smiled. "Besides, Priest-nim already implied in his question that you knew of our secret."

Kyungsoo folded his arms, not fully convinced, but stopped after exchanging a meaningful look with Jongdae. _There might be more to this than we thought_.

They proceeded in silence, arriving soon at a large open space around which the tallest buildings had been erected. From the one that most resembled a palace (given the circumstances of it being a merchant village in the countryside) soon arose a tall, distinguished man. He had his robes on, but his untied hair and the absence of a sword by his waist indicated he had just gotten up, in a hurry to boot.

"Masters, I apologize for not welcoming you at the entrance," he offered as soon as he had come to stand in front of them. "As Jungnam-ssi warned me, I admit I did not expect aid to arrive so swiftly, if any at all, since this is such a remote location." He bowed. "My name is Baekgo, and I am the current patriarch of the Ha family in Yonsa. We are deeply grateful for your help at such a critical time."

"I am Kim Minseok from the Xiumin Order in Gyeonggi. These are Kim Jongdae and Kyungsoo." They returned his bow. "Master Ha, sorry to be blunt, but why call it 'critical'? Is it not just the case of a single corpse?"

The man looked troubled. His mouth twitched behind his goatee and a crease appeared in his forehead before he was able to collect himself.

He looked at the two guards that the advisor had sent for him earlier, who were now standing passively by his side. With one gesture of his hand, they drew back in the direction they had come from, to the front gate.

Once they were no more in sight, he answered. "I say this not as a patriarch, but as a brother." His voice was soft; in it lingered sorrow, ache, and regret. "Truthfully, my brother and I did not have the best of relationships, but it pains me to see him reduced to such a state. I do not wish for him to amass any more sins in death than he already did in life." Despite his words, his eyes never wavered from theirs; they were somber, but resigned. "These men he attacked, and that poor girl..."

"You are aware, though, of what awaits for him once we release his spirit?" Minseok reminded. Although he wished to be considerate, and intended the patriarch to face his decision with full comprehension of what it entailed, there was no way to alleviate the burden of such truth: it required firmness in spirit, allied to some degree of detachment between what the heart desired and justice demanded.

The man clenched his fists, face on the verge of twisting into a scowl, but somehow managed to regain control of himself before his emotions were in full display. "I am." His hands hung slackly by his body. "Although, I must admit... I cannot say I understand the way of the gods. Although he planned to commit a heinous act... He was no more than a boy who had just reached adulthood. If he could have been given a second chance..."

Kyungsoo frowned and folded his arms. He truly could not stand those whiners.

In contrast, by his side, Jongdae's eyes suddenly gained a new gleam of determination.

Oblivious to how the other two reacted, Minseok was focused on doing what he did best: his work. "He will," he reassured the patriarch, "once he has paid for his crimes."

"And how long will that take, Priest-nim? Is it really hundreds of years, as stories tell?"

"Only as long as needed for his karma to ripen," Kyungsoo intervened, too fed up to continue listening to such dull conversation. "As for how long that takes, it varies. Since he did not actually kill you, if he did not commit any sins we don't know of... There is a chance he might be set for reincarnation in less than one lifetime."

"... One lifetime?" The man paled. Kyungsoo, in turn, internally huffed. The other had just suggested _hundreds_ of a year ― certainly seventy or eighty were not that bad. They were never satisfied, were they? "A lifetime of being crushed, steamed, sawed..." He gulped, unable to continue listing all the hell tortures he had ever heard of. Minseok and Jongdae stared at him with serious expressions on their faces, as there was nothing they could say to comfort him.

On the other hand, Kyungsoo just rolled Chanyeol's eyes. In what was a rare moment of awareness for him when it came to social interactions, he assumed it would be inadequate to clarify that most people underwent a single punishment (not a series of them), and that the man's brother was most likely going to be sentenced to be hung on an iron tree (impaled on its thick branches), considering he had instilled conflict within his family. Nonetheless, it still bothered him deeply to be forced to listen to such nonsense and not be able to say anything in return. He could not appear to be too knowledgeable, especially not in front of Minseok.

In a way, it was fortunate for him that in the following second two high-pitched screams, one after the other, pierced the silence of the night, ceasing all conversation.

The source seemed to be the way they had come from ― the gate.

The priests automatically moved to stand in front of Ha Baekgo, shielding him, their staffs already in hand.

Lee Jungnam, who stood a little behind him, turned his eyes from the priests to Kyungsoo, lingering on him for a bit before finally moving to the patriarch.

"Lord Ha, should I go call the guards?"

The man quickly nodded. The counselor twirled in the right direction, and had already taken a few steps when he stopped and looked back.

"Priests, would one of you mind accompanying me? It is of utmost importance to bring the guards, but I'm afraid there is a chance I might be intercepted by our invader before I get there."

Before any of them could volunteer, Kyungsoo came forward. "I'll go."

"Please do not take any offense, Kyungsoo-ssi..." he chided, "but if we do come across the corpse, what help could you offer?"

"Kyungsoo-ssi is more capable than he might seem," Jongdae clarified, still in the same defensive position. Without leaving Ha Baekgo's side, eyes watchful to the patch of darkness ahead of them, he asked, "are you sure, Kyungsoo-ssi?"

"Yes." He side-eyed the counselor. "Although maybe it's better if you give me a couple of talismans, for this old geezer to have more confidence in me."

"Please pay no mind to his words, Jungnam-ssi." The priest interjected in the speed of light, swiftly proceeding to open his satchel, take a handful of colored paper sheets and place them on Chanyeol's palm. "He has a big mouth, but you can trust him."

The counselor was not too satisfied. It had already been some time since those screams had echoed from the entrance, however; danger loomed close, and any more hesitation could ensue in an undesired meeting with, most likely, the corpse possessed by the young master's spirit. Therefore, he took off soon after, Chanyeol's body following him closely like a large shadow.

As long as Kyungsoo was by his side, Jongdae couldn't help being aware of his presence; it was only now that he had left that the priest was able to fully focus his attention on their most immediate threat. His instincts told him there was no chance the corpse would go after anyone else but the patriarch, so he was not worried about those two. It would indeed be beneficial if those guards could come soon, though. He was confident in his abilities, and felt he could trust Minseok's, too ― but they did not yet know how ferocious this corpse was, and maintaining Ha Baekgo's safety may not be as easy a task as simply defeating the dead.

With the patriarch standing awkwardly behind them (no weapons in his possession, as he had left his home all of a sudden), the priests exchanged a look, trying to coordinate their plan of action without words. Jongdae and Kyungsoo had already mastered that kind of unspoken communication ― but they had spent days, weeks, months together at that point, so it was only to be expected. It was much harder to make his thoughts known to someone he'd just met, especially considering Minseok was from a different Order and most likely adopted distinct methods.

That Jongdae had his very own personal approach did not facilitate their case either.

Yet, when those weird footsteps reached the square, they somehow knew what to do. Their staffs shone brightly as they injected spiritual power into them, casting more light onto the dimly path ahead. On it stood now a small, partly decayed corpse of a young girl. Her clothes were frayed and torn; there was a weird protuberance under her robes, as if her right knee was bent backwards. There were extensive open wounds on some parts of her body, the most visible one on her neck ― most likely where the beast had attacked her, or perhaps where wolves or other forest animals had fed on her afterwards.

Her frail body was in a dire contrast to the expression on her face. Her glazed wide eyes gleamed with menace, while her lips stretched into something that was either a scowl or a maniacal smile... or maybe both. At that moment, the corpse stood still, her head cocked to the side in what seemed to be either curiosity or confusion. The way the priests were positioned covered Ha Baekgo from his brother's sight ― which, they thought, was most likely the reason he had not attacked yet.

Still, it was weird how he seemed to be glancing more or less in the correct direction regardless. It was understandable that he had come to the village where he used to live, but why was he standing right there in front of them if he had been so reticent about approaching them when outside? Even more so considering he could not see that his brother was behind them...

Wordlessly, Minseok and Jongdae came to the decision of waiting for the corpse to act first. Minutes passed as they all kept absolutely motionless. Their staffs were still infused with power, the rings on both tips floating in the air as if submerged in water ― except one of Minseok's rings, that had already dropped down...

They needed to do something, and do something soon.

Keeping their staffs energized, even without moving, required too much energy. Minseok could not understand why that corpse had become inert just like that ― hadn't it come running from the entrance after taking down those two guards that had been sent there? How did it happen that it had made its way to where they were now, that main square, but did not attempt to go to the "palace", where it would be most likely for his brother to be? Why was he just standing there?

Jongdae was asking himself the same questions. They both figured as much ― that they shared the same doubts ―, but neither of them dared to speak and prompt the corpse to move. If they could remain that way until the guards arrived, at least they could guarantee some numerical advantage. Unexpectedly, though, Kyungsoo and Jungnam were taking a long time to come back.

In a way, Jongdae was glad Kyungsoo had gone with that counselor. He had thought something was off about that man from the beginning, but he noticed from the way he acted that Kyungsoo was even more wary than he was: there was no chance he would be taken by surprise. However, there was a possibility that he might be outnumbered, if Jungnam had been able to pay off those guards...

One of his rings dropped, and so did another one on Minseok's staff.

 _Think_. Jongdae exhaled as silently as he could, slowing the rhythm the beating of his heart, clearing his mind. It seemed the counselor wanted to get rid of Ha Baekgo; in that case, most likely no guards would come. If they were lucky, Kyungsoo would be able to put an end to his plans; in the worst-case hypothesis, Kyungsoo would be either taken hostage... or killed. Jongdae had enough belief in Kyungsoo's abilities to be sure he would be able to run away if it was necessary, so he put that problem aside for now.

With no guards coming, he had to think of a way to deal with that corpse without exposing Ha Baekgo to danger. If Jungnam had schemed to get rid of him, he must have done something to assure the brothers would meet. He had welcomed them by the gate, then sent the guards ahead to summon him. Jongdae had forgotten to look back, but indeed ― hadn't the gate been left open and unattended? It had taken at least ten minutes for the guards to go back, more than enough for the corpse to make it inside. Still, considering his course so far, the corpse had had only a general idea of the direction he ought to take; in that case, how had it been able to take such a direct route to that main square, and why had it been standing there instead of either running away from them or looking for his target? It was as if he had been wandering vaguely when outside, but like a compass had been set on his head the moment he stepped within the walls of the property...

More or less around the time he had entered, Ha Baekgo had also gotten up to meet them. Was it possible that the spirit was just tuned in to the presence of his brother, and had been able to track him down once they were close enough? Jongdae had never witnessed anything of the sort, but that could not be ruled out entirely. Or else...

When he got up, he also got dressed. He had not brought his sword, but maybe there was something in his robes, or his shoes. If there was something in him that was attracting his brother, that could explain how he had found them that fast, and also why he was just standing there now. Such contraption most certainly involved some spiritual power, which was most likely being affected by the energy their staffs were emitting: the two brothers were like magnets, continuously pulling one another, while he and Minseok were a third magnet with opposite poles, strong enough to push them away up to a certain point but not to get rid of the attraction entirely.

Being careful not to make any movements that might trigger the corpse in front of them, Jongdae tilted his head to the side slowly, till he was able to catch a glimpse of the equally motionless Ha Baekgo behind them. There did not seem to be anything unusual about his clothing ― not visible to the naked eye, at least. Perhaps Jungnam had hidden it somehow, chosen not to be too obvious about it. In that case, it might be more difficult to remove it ― but it would be dangerous to take any action before they did, since the corpse would be able to find the patriarch if they moved away from him, and it would take him only one second to snap his neck. Jongdae thought the man most likely had some martial arts training not to be so easily caught, but he was not willing to risk it.

Yet another ring dropped in each of their staffs. They were running out of time.

With no sign of any guards or Kyungsoo or Jungnam in the vicinity, Minseok decided to take action. Jongdae did not have time to tell him of his discovery, so the minute the other priest moved towards the corpse, he stepped back, as close to Baekgo as he could get.

The corpse reacted ― not as much to Minseok jumping in his direction, more to the fact he had finally caught sight of his prey... And _oh_ , was he angry. Those puny little legs propelled that body faster than one would think, especially considering one of them was broken. It dodged Minseok's first swing of his staff much easier than the priest's pride would've liked, but Minseok was not that inexperienced either. The moment he realized he had missed, he grasped the staff back with his two hands to change its direction and jumped, rotating his body 180º degrees as he swung his staff right onto the corpse's ribs.

The little female body flew to the side, crashing against the wood and stone porch of one of the buildings.

Meanwhile, Jongdae took the opportunity to have Ha Baekgo talk (considering the corpse was already excited anyway).

"Master Ha, I need you to answer me quickly," he shot, eyes fixed on the corpse that was by then getting up from the stone steps. "Has Jungnam-ssi touched any of your clothes?"

The man was shocked by the scene unveiling in front of him. He had never seen a moving corpse before, and having the first be one in such bad condition was more traumatizing than he would've guessed. Yet, he had been able to remain still and quiet like he had been (theoretically) instructed before, so Jongdae thought he deserved some praise for that.

When he did not respond, Jongdae elbowed him softly. He gasped, but it worked. "He handles all my clothes," he whispered back. "Why― are you suspecting him?! He's been working for my family for years..."

"Unfortunately, I am." Jongdae pushed him back slowly as the corpse finally stood up and turned his head at them. "Please. Can you think of anything unusual that you're wearing?"

When the corpse started running in their direction, Minseok leaped in front of him again, striking him and sending him flying to the other side of the square.

The patriarch widened his eyes. "I... There is one thing. It's a family heirloom..." He took a necklace from inside his robes. There was a jade pendant hanging on it, a flower and foliage pattern beautifully carved into the greenish stone. "The patriarch usually only wears it for ceremonial occasions, but last week he told me I should keep it on for some time in memory of my father and brother..."

Jongdae held the stone in his hand. In between the fine carvings, several enchantments had been engraved in extremely small writing ― he could feel the latent power contained within the lines. It seemed indeed to be a potent powerful device. At first sight, at least, there seemed to be nothing wicked about it.

When he turned it around on his palm, though, he found out what he was for: a symbol had been carved into the stone over the patterns ― much larger, much less delicate than the others. Perhaps anyone who was not looking at it carefully would not have spotted it amongst the elaborate design, which was probably how the counselor had been able to disguise it. The character embedded into the jade was the usual one for that kind of common attraction spell: it would be a signal not only for his brother's spirit, but as well for any other evil beings that happened to be within its reach. They were lucky that type of occurrences was rare in that region; it was peaceful enough that the walls had been enough to keep him safe.

To hold such a heavy stone, the thread that had been used was unusually thick to begin with, then had been braided into a complex plait that was even thicker. If Jongdae used some spiritual power, he could most likely rip it, but at that moment it rested too close to Ha Baekgo's neck for him to either do so or use his staff to cut it.

"You have to take it o―" he began saying, before being interrupted by a vicious claw-like hand clashing against his staff. He clenched his teeth as he summoned his strength to withhold the attack.

Jongdae had been too entranced in the pendant that he did not notice when the corpse recovered and started running again in their direction. Minseok had been holding his strength ― they did not want to crush the girl's body or cut it into pieces ―, which meant neither of his attacks had done much damage. Worse, the corpse had finally realized the extent of his attack power, although it had taken him two hits to get used to the priest's speed. When Minseok advanced towards him again, the corpse somersaulted over his staff and landed too far away for a follow-up move to reach him.

Luckily, Jongdae's reflexes were good enough that he had been able to ward off the attack, even if only detecting it last minute.

The sudden scare made the patriarch take some steps back, away from Jongdae. Although he held the corpse at arm's reach now, that worried him a bit ― the farther away he moved, the easier it would be for his brother's spirit to catch him. To make it worse, it was not only the attraction spell that was drawing the corpse towards him now: his lunatic eyes had finally caught sight of his target's face, and it was like a new flame had blown ablaze inside him. The force in his hand intensified, burying Jongdae's feet inches into the ground as he held on ― repelling him now would make him aim directly for his brother.

If they were able to remove that necklace and take Ha Baekgo anywhere else, be it within a building or even an alley, the corpse would not be able to easily find him and the fight would be much simpler. As it was, however, he was still under a great risk. Jongdae could not look back to check on him, his whole focus concentrated on the threat in front of him; but then he saw Minseok running towards them from behind the corpse, and took the opportunity to both do what he needed to do and distract his opponent.

"Take off the necklace!" He screamed. Had the patriarch heard him and understood what he said?

From the way the corpse's eyes zoomed into something behind Jongdae, he assumed he had: Baekgo had most likely left his motionless stance, hence attracting even more attention from his brother. The grip against the priest's staff grew lighter as the undead prepared to launch himself against his prey.

Like they'd let him.

The moment the corpse backed off, both Minseok and Jongdae's staffs flew towards him like vipers. With his animal-like instincts, he was able to evade the attack coming from above, but was not fast enough to avoid the blow coming at his calves.

As he was thrown on the stone floor, Jongdae shouted over his shoulder, "Master Ha, have you taken it off yet?"

"I'm... trying!" A voice panted somewhere behind him, "but... it's stuck... in my hair!"

Oh. His hair was untied, it was dark and he was tense, so it was understandable that he might be a bit clumsy ― but such news was nonetheless undesired. As long as he had that pendant on him, Jongdae and Minseok could not make a single mistake, a pressure that was strenuous on their side as well. Minseok was already down to three rings, as he had been using more energy than Jongdae to move around faster. It was easier to overpower the corpse when they were two to one, but if they lost that edge...

The corpse was up in no time; as much as they needed to figure out a strategy, they did not have time to continue engaging in such thoughts.

With Ha Baekgo still too close for comfort, they effectively entered into a three-way fight. The corpse had become more proficient in foreseeing their attacks and was dodging most of them, at least to the point they were not able to topple him anymore. On the other hand, amidst avoiding their staffs, he was finally able to land some attacks of his own. At one point, his pointy nails scratched and tore one of Minseok's sleeves; some time afterwards, his broken leg snapped like a whip against Jongdae's side while he was busy defending against his arms.

The priest managed to stand his ground despite the impact, but he was afraid one of his ribs might have cracked. He was breathless for a couple of seconds ― enough of an opening that, after evading one of Minseok's blows, the corpse was almost able to escape from them.

He would have, if a hand had not come from the direction he was running towards and punched him right in the face.

"Are you okay?" Kyungsoo asked, obviously directed at Jongdae. He did not seem out of breath or tired ― which was to be expected, in a way, as he was also a corpse.

"I'm fine, thank you," he answered immediately, not at all realizing how happy he sounded just from having Kyungsoo back. "More importantly, help Master Ha take off that pendant!"

A punch from a normal human was of course not able to keep the corpse down for long. After he recovered from the surprise attack, he was more furious than ever. Jongdae ignored the soreness in his ribcage and went back to attacking him, focused now on buying time rather than actually trying to defeat him. Minseok seemed to pick up his thoughts and started following the same approach: their blows were not aimed at parts of his body that could immobilize him, but rather at the ones that could make him fall down, or attacks that would send him flying away. They could think of a definitive solution after Ha Baekgo had gotten rid of that damned necklace.

After a series of strokes, the two priests were finally able to hit the corpse at the same time: like a bat hitting a ball, the undead body was tossed a couple of meters away, engulfed by the darkness in a far corner of the square. Jongdae heard footsteps and looked back, catching just a glimpse of Ha Baekgo walking towards the largest house in the village before he got in and closed the main doors.

Behind him stood Chanyeol's tall frame, the cursed pendant hanging on his neck.

"I figured this type of spell will only work if there's someone alive wearing the cursed item," he explained, more to Minseok (who looked positively puzzled) than to Jongdae. "Master Ha said some protective spells have been casted over his house. He will attract his brother's attention so that he'll know he's there, while I wear this necklace and attract him in the opposite direction. These conflicting instincts ought to be of some help for you two."

Jongdae frowned. Lately, he hadn't been much enjoying any plans that put Kyungsoo in danger. Then again, that did seem to be a good idea, and Minseok was almost running out of spiritual power...

"Where's the counselor?" Minseok asked, and only then Jongdae remembered they still hadn't talked about the possibility of that man being a traitor. They seemed to be so in sync, however, that he considered it was very likely that the other priest had come to the same conclusion.

"Tied up and hidden in a building nearby," Kyungsoo informed simply. "That old geezer made me run around the whole village trying to mislead me and keep me away from here as long as possible. I don't even know where the guards are ― but if they're not here yet with all this noise, then I guess he must've done something to keep them away."

They all hoped the counselor had not paid them off, as that would imply they would have more problems to solve afterwards.

As of now, though, having gotten rid of the problem of protecting the patriarch, they could finally act more freely. After one last look at each other, Kyungsoo left towards the other side of the square, opposite the house Ha Baekgo was in. Jongdae and Minseok followed him till they made it to the center of the square and waited. In the midst of the darkness, where the dim light of the lanterns in the buildings did not reach, their shining staffs seemed to be floating midair, their black clothes blending them with the night around them.

Minseok was down to one ring; Jongdae had three, but he felt it would go down to two soon. It was time they brought the situation to a close.

From where they were, they could see the corpse getting up next to a building some distance away. He stood up clumsily, not as much because of the blow he had received, but more like he lacked an aim. Ha Baekgo was standing on the second floor of his residence, looking at him from a window, and he obviously was able to see him too; but then his head would turn to the other side, towards were Kyungsoo was, like there was some invisible force tugging him (and there was).

With no reason to hesitate anymore, the priests took the lead.

Without any constraints, their first clash evidenced their blatant disparity in power. Jongdae attacked first, a wide movement that left a lot of openings, but right now he had nothing to worry about. Unlike the other times, the corpse did not even have a chance to dodge: when the tip of the priest's staff touched his shoulder, besides the impact, it was like an electric current had run through him ― he was knocked down and zapped to the spot.

When Minseok approached him then, there really was no chance for resistance. He struck him down once more just to be sure, hit him right in his abdomen. It was more of a spiritual attack than a physical one, though: with his physical body already immobilized, Minseok fired energy through his Qi channels, stunning the soul inside that vessel as well.

As soon as he finished, his hands started making seals one after another at incredible speed. Jongdae was standing next to him now, by the corpse's feet, and knew what he was doing: the incantations to send that spirit to the other Realm.

"Wait," he asked then, placing one of his hands softly on Minseok's elbow. The other priest was startled, but stopped. "Would you allow me to do this my way?"

Was there any other way? Not that Minseok knew of. After that night, however, he had come to trust Jongdae to be dependable, and truly believed in his judgment and character. He didn't even waver before stepping back, gesturing for Jongdae to come forward. With a smile, he did.

The sequence of seals he made was not one Minseok had ever seen. Even more shocking ― there were whole hand seals he did not know of! If he had already been fast, then Jongdae was on a whole other level: it was a very long and intricate combination, but he nevertheless finished it quickly. In less than twenty seconds he was done, and by then the tip of his staff had started shining the brightest it had for the whole night.

Looking closely, it was not just the staff: there was a subtle light emanating from Jongdae's head as well. He had his eyes closed as he tilted his staff forward and touched that body's forehead with that blinding light.

Somewhere behind them, someone yelled at them ― Ha Baekgo. He had come down and was running towards them. That ritual was not anything anyone had ever seen before, so he was understandably worried they might be doing something to his brother's spirit. Kyungsoo, who was approaching them from the other side, just shot him a look intense enough to shut him down. He had Chanyeol's arms folded and a frown that was almost a scowl on his face. He had not thought Jongdae would do that. Not that night.

As far as he knew, he had never done that in front of other people.

Minseok seemed to be in a trance, so he did not ask anything. Baekgo certainly wanted to ask, but was too afraid of Kyungsoo to dare speak. Therefore, the three stood quietly around Jongdae and the corpse, as the light around and between them got stronger and stronger, brighter and brighter. For those who had higher levels of Qi, they could feel the density in the energy on the air around them change; for those who did not, like the patriarch, it felt like a light breeze had started blowing ― only it was blowing in circles around them, almost like a whirlwind. At some point, Jongdae's feet left the ground; soon after, the corpse had also begun to float. He changed to an upright position and continued to ascend until the two bodies were suspended in the air some half a meter above the ground, facing each other.

The other priest was fascinated. The distortion in the air between their heads told him it was not just energy that was being transmitted between them. It was more like... But could that be...? It did not make any sense...

"... His spirit...?" he mumbled, actually just to himself.

The creases in Chanyeol's face deepened.

Some minutes later, they started to come down. Jongdae's feet landed on the ground first; he stretched his arms in front of him and caught the girl's body like it was a feather. By now his head had stopped glowing, but his staff was still energized, held somewhat awkwardly in one of his hands. The priest's expression was the most serene Minseok had seen on him so far; it radiated love, and affection, and such gentleness that anybody looking at him at that moment felt like their own souls were being caressed and healed by his aura.

Out of the girl's body suddenly popped out a small green ball of ghost fire. Ha Baekgo gasped.

"Baekgu-yah..." He breathed, like he could not believe his eyes.

The little ball floated slowly towards him and stopped in front of his face. It just stayed there for some time, unmoving, and Baekgo's eyes did not drift away from it either. Then it moved down, towards where his heart was, and appeared to have gone inside him, but soon after reappeared on the other side. The patriarch felt an unprecedented warmth in his heart that soon spread throughout all his body; could you really feel warmth from a ghost? Still, it was as if he could sense his brother's feelings, somehow...

The ghost fire went through him a couple more times before it was satisfied and floated back towards Jongdae.

"Are you ready?" The priest asked him kindly. The ball moved up and down, akin to a nod. "Alright. Master Ha Baekgu, please move towards my staff..."

The spirit floated till he was right in front of the shining tip of Jongdae's staff. The priest murmured the last incantations before he tilted his staff, making the two lights meet and blend with one another.

When he ceased the flow of spiritual energy in his staff, the ghost fire was gone.

"Master Ha Baekgu," he uttered in a solemn tone, with a bow of his head, "good luck in your next life."

They had not noticed at first, as the scene with Jongdae and the corpse monopolized their attention, but at some point during all the action, the guards had finally arrived, alongside some servants and villagers. They did not dare come close, and instead watched the situation unfold from some of the paths that led to the square, half-hidden behind the buildings.

The patriarch had taken the opportunity to wake up some of his servants when he entered his residence, who in turn had run to the guardhouse to fetch the guards. They had been hearing all the noises, but had been told by counselor Jungnam that the patriarch had instructed them "not to come outside, no matter what you hear or what happens". Conceiving such order as legitimate, they had obediently remained inside, despite their uneasiness. When the servants from the main residence arrived and told them the Ha Baekgo was in danger, they all rushed as fast as they could to his aid.

The two priests already had everything under control when they got there, however. Besides, they had never seen such a beautiful scene as that before ― that priest floating midair surrounded by light (or, more precisely, emitting it) looked like an envoy from Heaven, or even a God himself. Hence they had not interfered, and just observed it all quietly.

When it became clear the episode had come to a close, they approached their master with their heads lowered in shame for having been fooled. Ha Baekgo acquitted them easily, too much in a good mood to hold any resentment. It was not that he was happy, but rather... relieved.

He told them to wake up the inn owners, then instructed his servants to prepare food for a banquet. They ought to celebrate.

That was how the priests, plus Kyungsoo, were now sitting at a table in the middle of the inn's dining room, a steaming pot of stew in front of them as the rest of the table was covered with all kinds of side dishes. The patriarch had been sitting with them till a moment ago, and Jongdae had explained to him (in layman’s terms) what had happened. Now that he left, Minseok was anxious to ask more specific questions of his own.

"So... how do you "cleanse their karma", exactly?"

Those had been the words Jongdae used to make himself understood to the patriarch. "That phrasing is... imprecise," he clarified. "I think it's easier to understand if I reproduce the reasoning that led me to develop this technique. Which circumstances would allow a criminal not to be sent to Hell to repent for his sins?"

Minseok raised two fingers in front of him. "There are two. If they paid for his crimes during his life, or if their good deeds outweigh the bad."

Jongdae nodded. "Precisely. That ultimately means that the karmic repercussions of someone's actions is not the sole reason they are sent to Hell. After all, even if someone pays for their crimes, the family of their victims will still suffer; even if they try to do good, whatever evil they did before still bears consequences. What crucially changes in those two situations is not the karmic repercussions of their actions, but rather―"

"―their conscience," Minseok completed, eyes widening in understanding.

"Yes ― that's what I thought, too! If a person who commits evil deeds truly repents before dying, that is, if they truly come to comprehend what they did was wrong, there is no point in sending them to Hell, as their spirit has already evolved. They have learned that lesson and are ready for reincarnation."

"I get the theory, but... How do you actually do it?"

"He brainwashes them," Kyungsoo grumbled, looking bored out of his mind as he nibbled at the food in front of them (Minseok certainly knew he was "a corpse", but Jongdae thought he ought to keep appearances in front of the other people in the hall).

Jongdae sideyed him. "That's _incorrect_." He ate a mouthful of noodles, humming in contentment before continuing. "I think it can be best described as a conversation. A soul-to-soul conversation."

"He overlaps their consciences and forces his values upon them," Kyungsoo badgered once more.

"Again, _incorrect_." The priest sighed. "I cannot _force_ them to agree with me, although what Kyungsoo-ssi said about overlapping our consciences is accurate. For a short period of time, I blend my spirit with their own, so that we can have a conversation... an exchange, if you may... without words. My intention is to help them realize the error in their ways. When they do, their karma changes because their spirit achieves a new level of understanding. There's no need for them to be sent to Hell and they can proceed straight to reincarnation."

Minseok struck his chin, deep in thought. "Does that not count as interfering in the karmic course of the universe?"

"Of course it does," Kyungsoo growled yet again, face so dark some guards in the tables around them started to grow uneasy he was about to start a fight.

"Kyungsoo-ssi disagrees with my ways," Jongdae pointed out the obvious with a smile, "but I honestly cannot bear with the idea of people suffering in the Hell Realm for so long. It is just... too cruel. If I can do something to ease such pain, I will. I don't know if the universe will punish me for it, but even if it does, I am glad I will be the only one suffering instead of so many others."

That seemed to be the last straw. Kyungsoo dropped his chopsticks, got up and left the room, stamping his feet on his way out.

The other priest picked a piece of meat from his bowl and chewed it with delight as he spoke, "he seems to really hate it."

"He is... very conservative."

"Well, I'm not." With a gummy smile, Minseok stole a particularly large piece of meat from Jongdae's portion and laughed when he whined. "I need to reflect a bit more about it, but I am definitely interested. What are the steps for this ritual?"

Jongdae had never talked about his technique to anyone. When he was still conceiving it in his mind, he had discussed it with the Master from his Order, but that had been a long time ago, and their conversation back then had been mostly concentrated on the ethical aspect as well. Jongdae was not sure his answer to that dilemma was the right one; nevertheless, it was the conclusion he had come to by himself, and he had decided to stand by it. If there were other people willing to take the same path, out of their own will...

"This is how you start."

🙫

Kyungsoo sat in front of a stone porch some meters down the path. To his right, he could see the illuminated windows from the inn, buzzing with noise and excitement as they celebrated not only the capture of the corpse that had been threatening the region, but also the liberation of the young master's spirit ― the patriarch was overjoyed to tell everyone in the village his brother would be reincarnating soon.

Even if Ha Baekgo was not willing to give them all the details, someone had managed to overhear the whole story from when he was talking to the priests (all walls have ears; this village was no exception). Soon, the rumor had spread that there was a priest who could forgive sins and help anyone evade Hell.

Chanyeol's sigh echoed in the empty road as he rested his face on his hands. Ever since Kyungsoo had come to the Mortal Realm, he had made the effort to prevent Jongdae from using that technique, and part of his success was due to the fact the priest was a lone wolf: he had been traveling alone for years, always kept people away as he solved his cases to avoid hurting others, and did not have much contact with others, even the people from his own Order. That he had invented the technique was bad, but at least he had been the only one to know of it and to use it.

Now another priest had seen it, though ― and now that even normal people had caught news of it and rumors had started... for Kyungsoo, that meant more trouble was coming his way.

Just as such thoughts crossed his mind, he felt something burning in his hand. When he looked at Chanyeol's palm, a small red inscription had appeared at its bottom, in a flaming red like pieces of ember engraved in the skin. He resisted the urge to itch it and looked around. He spotted the perfect small alley wedged between two houses: none of the walls had windows, and it was narrow enough that the shadows there were particularly dense.

Chanyeol's width barely fit as he slipped inside, proceeding forward with his body tilted sideways until he reached the end of the alley ― it ended at the back of a third house, or so it seemed. He looked back. The road was barely visible from where he was, the dim light from the lanterns not enough to reach him there. Satisfied, he turned his palm up again and made a half-seal with his other hand before touching the red inscription with one of his fingers.

Immediately, a figure appeared before his eyes. To be more precise, a whole room had appeared around him... with a person in it.

The space was circular-shaped, red drapes covering the walls and the ceiling, rich carpets concealing the stone floor underneath. Light came from mosaic lamps hanging throughout the room; while the colored stained glass casted a beautiful effect as it shone in an array of colors, for the very same reason the light was also quite subtle, giving the place a somewhat dusky feeling. On one side there was a huge mattress that also functioned as a couch of sorts, covered with all sizes of cushions; on the other side was a small table with only one chair, in which a person was now sitting.

It was a familiar space: his boss's antechamber.

Kyungsoo realized, as he looked at his smaller hands and shorter limbs, that he was in his original form. His outfit, however, still seemed to be the same one he had been wearing on Earth.

It was all just an illusion; he knew he could not leave Chanyeol's body without consequences. If anyone looked at him in the Mortal Realm at that moment, they would see him slumped down on the floor of the alley; if they talked to him, he would still be able to hear them and respond. It was only in his eyes that the image projected did not match the actual environment around him.

Since that was the case, he did not know why Suho had not let him wear his usual clothing in his imagination. Wearing those farmer clothes on his original body... honestly...

"Boss." Kyungsoo greeted, bowing deeply towards the man sitting in front of him.

The Hell Official Suho stood up from his chair. He wore red robes with black leather finishes and no undergarments: in between the lapels of his robe a large expanse of his chest was exposed, skin an ivory-white that seemed to almost sparkle in the faint light illuminating the room. His hair was even redder than his clothes, trimmed short how most Hell Officials liked it. On each side of his head, one strand of hair spiked up, in a vague resemblance to horns.

Kyungsoo had always found that styling choice a bit tacky, but Suho was immensely popular with other Hell Officials and even among some Gods, so who was he to say anything?

"Long time no see, Kyungsoo-yah," he greeted him informally, friendly even, as he gestured for Kyungsoo to sit on the mattress. "You must know why I called you here."

He let his body sink into the soft material as instructed, but otherwise remained silent.

Suho correctly interpreted his silence as an answer and continued. "It's been what, a little over two months since you went up there?" Kyungsoo nodded. "And you still haven't made any progress. That Ha Baekgu ― he should've been ours, and yet I've been told the Judge found his soul to be ready for reincarnation..." He sighed. "It is true you have been able to hold the priest off since you started accompanying him ― we were losing souls at a much quicker pace before ― but the higher ups have been pressuring me for a more definitive solution for a while now." He strode around the room as he spoke, holding his hands behind his back. "If it's only one spirit that goes missing once in a while, we can still handle it, but... we cannot have you stay in the Mortal Realm forever, and we cannot risk allowing this priest to continue meddling with people's karmas either."

He didn't want to tell his boss about what had just happened that night. Setting aside his moral standards and sense of duty, however, it seemed quite likely that Suho would soon hear about it from somebody else anyway, so there was no point in hiding it. Besides, if he told him right there and then, there was also a chance of earning some honor points with his boss, which could come in handy at some point in the future.

"In that sense, I have new information to offer." Suho stopped in his tracks and turned to him at his interjection. Seeing that his attention was entirely on him, Kyungsoo pressed on. "As of tonight, the priest Jongdae performed his ritual in front of another priest, and a small crowd as well. Rumors have already started circulating."

"...Shit." Suho rubbed his forehead. "Has he taught him the technique yet?"

"When I was with them, he still had not; but I think it is possible that he has by now."

His boss walked back to his chair and sat down, his eternally young face suddenly appearing ten years older.

"That complicates things. We might not be able to solve this anymore just by getting rid of the priest."

Kyungsoo lowered his head. Getting rid of him... yes, that was his mission, the reason he had incarnated in one of the priest's friends in the first place.

"It is a dangerous technique," Kyungsoo reasoned. "Overlapping souls without one overpowering the other requires restraint but also a lot of power. If the soul being cleansed overthrows the one attempting the cleansing, there is no way to know what would happen." Not even they in Hell knew what the outcome could possibly be; Jongdae's technique was unique, the first of its kind. "The other priest he taught it to is quite smart. I am sure he figured as much."

"Priests have an astonishing instinct _against_ self-preservation," Suho countered. "If only they were more selfish, we would have a lot more of them in here." He vaguely gestured at the air around him. "As it is, though, I am afraid the odds this technique might spread like wildfire are not as low as I'd like."

His boss had always shown keen discernment and sound judgment, so Kyungsoo was not surprised he had not been able to convince him. Out of words, he remained quiet, looking at his feet as he waited.

Suho appeared to be deep in thought, gaze unfocused as he tapped his fingers on the table.

"What should I do, boss?" Kyungsoo eventually asked. He had already stayed there too long; any more, and Jongdae might come looking for him.

"For now, stick to the directions you've already been given." He rubbed his chin, his long black nails looking particularly dangerous as they scraped against his pale skin. "If the higher ups decide to change our route of action, I'll let you know."

Kyungsoo silently nodded again.

One second, he was looking at Suho in that room in Hell; one blink, and he was crouching on that dark alley again. He looked at his palm. The summoning character had disappeared, and no trace of it could be seen on Chanyeol's rough skin.

Kyungsoo sighed as he got up and dusted the dirt from his knees. Just what was he supposed to do with Jongdae now?

🙫

They left the next day after lunch. Despite both priests' attempts of refusing any kind of retribution, the Ha patriarch was unyielding. Instead of all the gold, jade and riches he tried to bestow them, they at least managed to make him settle for a small supply of food, medicine, and a new set of robes for Minseok, since his were ripped by the corpse the night before. The patriarch also promised them to take care of the affair with the little lady's body; he would use their payment to grant her a befitting funeral, so that her soul could also find peace.

Content with the outcome, the priests left the village, Kyungsoo keeping some distance from them like a threatening storm clouds looming on the horizon.

Minseok quirked one of his brows, then leaned closer to Jongdae.

"Is something wrong with him?" He whispered.

"He's just unhappy whenever I perform that ritual," Jongdae explained, without trying to conceal his voice. He would rather not speak behind Kyungsoo's back unless it was absolutely necessary, and in this case, he was not planning on saying anything improper. "The concerns you had about interfering with people's karmas, one could say he has them tenfold. I'm quite sure he must have been some kind of temple monk before, perhaps even the head of some Order. If you really pay attention to his eyes, you'll see it too ― they feel quite old, a few thousands at the very least."

Kyungsoo knew he was just saying those things to provoke him; yet, it was quite impressive how he could hit the mark even by accident. Or, maybe, intuition.

"Ah, yes, you mentioned it yesterday." Jongdae had briefed him about Chanyeol's situation after they talked about his technique, in hopes of getting a second specialist's opinion. Minseok turned to Kyungsoo behind them. "You really don't have any memories from your past life? None at all?" Kyungsoo just nodded. "That is very unusual, but indeed less so if he was someone influential. Perhaps it really was a curse."

That was the conclusion Jongdae had come to as well, as much as two months ago. In all that time he had spent together with Kyungsoo, no further evidence had surfaced, neither to corroborate or to disprove his theory. There was nothing in Kyungsoo's energy, or more precisely in the energy located in Chanyeol's body, that pointed to him having been cursed, as far as Jongdae could detect. He had carried out a couple of tests with and without informing Kyungsoo, but the results had always been the same: just a regular spirit, no signs of malice at all.

Curses often left physical traces instead of spiritual ones. At that level, however, Jongdae had not been brave enough to venture. In the beginning, he had felt it would be inappropriate for him to regard Chanyeol's naked body, considering the kind of feelings he had nurtured towards him for so many years. Now, after the time they had been travelling together, it felt equally inappropriate: he just could not fathom asking Kyungsoo to get undressed for him, no matter the reason, even if it was not his real body. Just thinking about it made him want to run to the closest river and dump his head in the water.

Feeling too bothered by the conversation and the thoughts it arose in his mind, Jongdae figured it would be best to change topic.

"About master Ha Baekgu," he started, calling the other two's attention, "Do you think there is any chance he was fooled by the counselor too?"

Lee Jungnam had been kept tied and locked away for much of the night, until someone remembered his existence. Ha Baekgo felt betrayed by the man who had looked after him ever since he was a child; precisely for the same reason, though, he was able to control his wrath, and decided to have the counselor sent to the capital to be judged for attempted murder. Maybe the magistrate in the city would even consider him partially responsible for the corpse's crimes as well.

Jongdae continued his rambling. "Maybe... maybe he was not contemplating killing his Hyung until Lee Jungnam brought the idea to his mind."

Despite their distance, Minseok and Kyungsoo glanced towards each other.

Minseok hated that raining on Jongdae's parade seemed to have become a role of his, but he still did it nevertheless. Since he was older, it was his duty to bring his talented, but naive Dongsaeng to his senses.

"Jongdae-ssi, you cleansed his soul. You would know best whether he harbored hatred towards his brother, and whether his desire for gold and power would have led him to plot murder."

Jongdae's face wrinkled into a grimace.

They kept walking down the road in silence after that. Kyungsoo looked at the two priests in front of him, noting how similar they appeared from behind; maybe Minseok was just the slightest bit broader, but with their robes, it really was not too noticeable. Their straw hats, their ringed staffs, their head to toe black outfits ― even the way they tied up their hair and headband was the same.

In Hell, most Officials put a lot of thought into the way they dressed, to the point it could be said all of them could be recognized by their outfits alone. Kyungsoo's trademark was not wearing a single piece that was not black; Suho's, on the other hand, was his addiction to showing skin, besides changing his hair color and styling to match his clothes. In that sense, looking at these two ― most especially, at Jongdae ― made him feel some kind of way, like his heart was being squashed by some unknown force.

Was it really worth it, to relinquish individuality and the pursuit of personal goals in favor of a bigger cause? Especially taking into consideration how short, how ephemeral human lives were?

Although these circumstances were rather unfavorable, Kyungsoo wished... no, he _hoped_ Jongdae could still, somehow, be...

"Although part of his plan might have been someone else's suggestion... I cannot say he did not harbor these feelings in his heart." The priest pronounced, looking quite miserable. "Unfortunately, not all evil comes from the outside. I wish... I wish it had been different."

It seemed they both had unattainable dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

Their original plan was to attack at dawn.

All spirits were naturally stronger at night, as Yin energy overflowed. Many of them could not even act during the day: they desired the Yang energy of the living, but lacked it themselves to the point that appearing under the Sun was extremely taxing on their fragile existences. Although the spirit they were dealing with at that moment was apparently a Ghoul (or had been, in the beginning), the connection it established with its living host was still artificial: the evil spirit would not be able to draw Yang energy from the environment ― its Yang resources were limited to what its host body provided.

Therefore, it only made sense to wait till daytime to strike.

Nevertheless, Kyungsoo knew it would not be an easy battle even under these conditions. After all, they had already seen the creature... seen what it did to the people it came across. It destroyed four villages; four villages that were wiped clean of any human remains.

At first, both Jongdae and Kyungsoo found that rather puzzling, and failed to understand what the monster had done with the bodies. The first glimpse they took of the creature, however, was enough to answer all their questions.

The explanation was, quite literally, _visible_.

Since that was the case, even if the Ghoul could not rely on the Yin energy nighttime provided it with, Kyungsoo had no doubt the force it wielded would still be tremendous. The power Jongdae had been able to obtain through cultivation was a force to be reckoned with ― but would it be enough?

After they finished devising their plans in the evening, they moved closer to where they had last seen the creature and waited. Jongdae lied down and tried to sleep again ― there was no point in staying awake and wasting his energy if they were only to act after sunrise. However, it took him a long time to drift off, the adrenaline of what was to come pumping in his veins (besides, he had slept during the day as well).

He felt he had just dozed off when something woke him up.

Not Kyungsoo, though.

Sounds, from somewhere far away.

Screams.

Jongdae did not know the area; he had never gone so far up north. Few people did, since there were no big cities on that side of the mountains, so there were not many maps available either, and even the ones that could be bought did not include those little villages they had passed by.

Unfortunately, those villages had been wiped out, so they could not ask locals for information either.

Neither of them had expected there would be another village so close to the last one. Yet, there was no mistaking those cries of despair.

This time, however, they were close enough.

Kyungsoo thought it would be better to wait until morning ― what were a few more dozen people next to all those who had already died anyway? ―, but there was no way Jongdae would ever agree to stand still as those sharp screams of agony filled the air.

Kyungsoo tried to hold him back, tried to argue with him, convince him to stay. It was useless: the priest got up at the speed of light, picked up his things, and ran.

With no other option, Kyungsoo ran after him.

🙫

The priest pushed mother and child aside, just in time to avoid the massive arm that came down and sank heavily into the earth.

The creature turned what looked to be its deformed head towards them as if in slow motion, despite having just shown it was able to be as fast as a whip when it wanted to.

They had arrived in time, not to save all the people, but at least to find some still alive. Those still alive were not hurt either, just in shock, trembling and stuck to the ground as they awaited their fate, their village crushed and burnt around them.

Amidst the debris stood the monster, as large as a palace. It did not have _a_ face, properly speaking. Still, Jongdae felt it was sneering at him; could almost hear its cackles of mockery.

Kyungsoo helped the two villagers up and prodded them to run before turning to face the creature as well.

This was the closest they had ever gotten to it. Even though the monster had already left a deep impression on them the first time they saw it, somehow viewing it from a distance did not serve it justice. If it had seemed huge before, now it was like a mountain; if it had looked monstrous before, now it was a nightmare incarnate. Unlike Jongdae, who had been shocked beyond words, as a Hell Official Kyungsoo understood the theory behind how the creature came to be. Observing it from afar still left some room for imagination, though; they were able to discern its general shape, grasp most of the essential details, but to actually witness it from up close was a different experience entirely.

Normally, reality does not live up to fantasy.

This time, it did.

This time, it went beyond.

Chanyeol's face scowled when the foul smell reached his nostrils. It was the putrid odor of rotting corpses. In his original body, Kyungsoo's senses had already become insensitive to that kind of smell, but Chanyeol's were still too perceptive; for the first time in centuries, Kyungsoo felt his stomach heave, and he had to lean against a half-crumbled wall for support.

As his physical body adjusted to that challenging sensation, he took the opportunity to study the creature better.

In a hurried estimate, he guessed it must be seven or eight meters tall. It had roughly a human shape, with four limbs and something akin to a head, although most of the time it stood on all fours, like a gorilla. None of these features, however, was the most striking about it; in fact, at first glance one might not even pay attention to how tall it was at all. Its body structure was just too remarkable.

After all, it was made of a multitude of human bodies glued together.

Some of them still retained their clothes, others had already shed them. Some were adults, some were elderly, and some were children. Some were glued by the back of their bodies; others were attached by their fronts and only their backs and shoulders could be seen. All of their faces were frozen in the last expression they'd shown, most of utmost terror and agony. Kyungsoo thought it was somewhat fortunate they seemed to be unconscious, and therefore unable to scream... or realize the situation they were in.

That was a harsh reality: they were not dead.

Because of his powers, Kyungsoo could feel that their souls were still attached to their physical bodies (most of them, at least). That power was not even necessary, though: anyone with some cultivated Qi would be able to perceive the accumulation of Yang energy in that mass of flesh.

The spirit they had been chasing had been strong enough to turn into a ghoul not only once, but countless, hundreds of times: all of these people had been, in a way, possessed by it. Jongdae had never seen anything like it. Kyungsoo knew it was possible in principle, but had never attested to such a dramatic case.

Ultimately, it was not that different from what Jongdae did with his special technique: it was essentially projecting one's soul into another body ― with the important distinction that Jongdae not only invaded bodies, but actually overlapped souls and rewrote karma. How many times that could be done depended solely on one's spiritual abilities.

What was quite shocking in this situation was precisely that the evil spirit had been able to do it so many times.

Kyungsoo knew this spirit ― how could he ever forget? Considering its power, it could not be any other. It had caused quite a ruckus when it was first sent to Hell. Even as a disembodied soul, it had been able to resist the Hell Officials that were transporting it to the deepest level, and actually injured a few. Higher Officials had to be called to subdue it. In the end, Kyungsoo had decided to take it under his jurisdiction, in order to watch over the scoundrel.

In hindsight, that had been his mistake.

Somehow, when he came to the Mortal Realm, the spirit had escaped... and warped there alongside him.

"Jongdae-ssi, watch out!" He yelled as the creature eventually decided to lash out at them again. Kyungsoo was calling to him not because the priest hadn't noticed it, or had not reacted, but rather because of _how_ he did so: instead of evading, it seemed he planned on blocking the attack.

Jongdae hesitated, but ended up dodging upon hearing Kyungsoo's cry.

A second later, the creature's arm crashed into the spot Jongdae was before.

Splatters of blood painted the ground.

The villagers observing from behind the collapsed buildings in the distance screamed as the monster lifted its arm back. On the part of its arm that had collided against the floor, several bone splinters jutted out from a bloody mash of flesh, hair, and skin.

Apparently, one of the bodies attached to that "arm" was still "fresh" ― hence the blood.

That was the origin of that disgusting smell. Even though the spirit absorbed the bodies still alive, the blackish mucus that kept them together was not much of a defense: as the creature shifted its limbs to attack or simply to move, the bodies on the edges were squashed, smashed, and crushed. At some points, like its back, the bodies were still intact; at others, however, only bones and flesh could be recognized; at a few, still an eye could be seen, or a hand, or some toes.

Although it had just attached a couple dozen people from that village, most of its body had been assembled from villages it had destroyed more than a week earlier, giving the ones who had died plenty of time to rot.

Jongdae was reluctant to attack precisely because of that formation. Even though those on the outer surface were surely dead, any slash or pierce could entail harming living people in the inner layers.

Kyungsoo wouldn't put it past that spirit bastard to have done that on purpose.

He knew the spirit was smart, far more intelligent than he would've liked, especially with the amount of power it had amassed. For now, though, it seemed as though it was just sizing them up. To be more precise, it was more focused on the priest ― it had barely paid any attention to Kyungsoo at all.

He had just cried out to Jongdae; therefore, there was a great chance the monster was aware of his existence. Considering their plans, however, it was better not to draw any more attention to himself.

Kyungsoo stepped back slowly. The monster's head did not move: it was still turned in Jongdae's direction.

There was no guarantee for what that meant, though: it could well be the case that the spirit could observe them through all the eyes of all the bodies that it was made up of, and the fact that part of its massive structure resembled a head could very well be just a ruse to throw them off.

At the same time, Kyungsoo knew for a fact human spirits tended to recreate human shapes whenever they could. It seemed to be an instinct, a deeply-rooted desire to reproduce the close relation between body and soul that existed when they were alive. It was a plausible hypothesis that even that evil spirit had inadvertently recreated such weakness instead of taking full advantage of the possibilities its body structure offered it.

Despite his uncertainties, Kyungsoo managed to back away to a collapsed house some meters back without being noticed.

Once hidden in the shadows, he took a small object from a satchel hung around his waist and held it tightly in one of his hands. The bodies making up the side of the creature that he was facing swung feebly as it moved one step ahead, getting closer to Jongdae.

The priest looked tiny in front of it ― a metaphorical depiction of a mouse confronting a tiger.

Observing such a scene afflicted Kyungsoo, but there was nothing he could do; nothing but bet on the plan he had helped Jongdae to formulate.

Now he just had to wait for Jongdae's sign.

Kyungsoo’s eyes were fixed on the black-clothed figure that stood in front of the mountainous creature, but the priest was absolutely still: it seemed not even his hair was moving with the wind. The monster seemed taken aback by his behavior ― it certainly was not used to people remaining so calm in front of it ―, and perhaps that was why it had not attacked yet. Regardless of whether it was able to sense how powerful Jongdae was, it certainly realized he was no average foe.

It happened in a flash, so fast that Chanyeol's eyes barely registered it.

With a sweep of his hand, Jongdae threw a handful of talismans on the ground between him and the creature. They exploded immediately, creating a cloud of dust and black smoke.

The second the cloud filled the air, he made a series of complicated seals with his hands, then hit the ground once with his staff.

The object in Kyungsoo's hand started emitting a faint light.

Jongdae looked back at him. Their eyes met for a brief second, just enough, before a giant arm crossed the dust and punched Jongdae where he stood.

Kyungsoo's eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

With Chanyeol's heart pounding in his chest, he realized he could still feel Jongdae's presence.

His gaze anxiously inspected the devastated land ahead of him, but the black cloud of dust and smoke still lingered in the air.

He sensed the right direction more than he could see it; somewhere to his right, somewhere in front of him, an unexpected concentration of energy indicated that someone was there.

Jongdae had most likely directed his Qi to his legs and feet to move faster and evade the attack.

His heart was still in his throat, but Kyungsoo knew he could not hesitate any longer. He had to trust Jongdae's abilities.

 _It's not that he's not capable_ , the voice in his mind pondered (actually panicked), _but that spirit..._

 _Shhh_. As long as they stuck to their plan, everything was going to be fine.

With that thought in mind, Kyungsoo ran.

He circled the house and went up the street, calculating the distance in his mind. After he had walked about fifty meters, he stopped and held the object in his hand. It was made of gold, no taller than a thumb, and with a slightly pointy shape; it was the tip of Jongdae's staff.

Kyungsoo knelt and shoved it into the ground briefly before picking it up again.

Normally, in order to draw an array, Jongdae would have had to do that himself ― like he had tried with the Monster of Haught, although in the end that spell had not been completed. From the moment the priest casted the spell that made that tip emit a faint light, however, a connection had been established: the tip was now charged with his spiritual energy.

It was risky: Kyungsoo had to draw the diagram in a particular order with no mistakes, as the energy contained within the tip was limited and, by the time he finished, he would most likely be too far away from Jongdae to even have the chance to ask him to recharge it. If Kyungsoo's spatial intelligence was not of surpassing excellence, that plan would've been impossible.

He stood up and looked down. As expected, there was a dim ball of light where the tip had come in contact with the ground. A barely visible thin line stretched from the ball into the distance, connecting it to the original point where Jongdae had touched the floor with his staff and started the array.

Kyungsoo looked at where he had come from, calculated the next step in his mind, and set off once again.

It was a particularly complex incantation: a human might have needed a blueprint to be able to follow the instructions. Kyungsoo knew even more intricate arrays than this one, though (had even invented some himself), so he did not hesitate, and proceeded seamlessly from one point to another, climbing heaps of debris and sneaking under fallen beams like he was taking a stroll in the park.

Out in the distance, he could hear the booms from the creature's punches hitting the earth; could feel the vibrations in the ground even with how far away he was. Every so often, they would cause the feeble structures still standing to collapse.

Fortunately, there was no one around anymore (although it was better not to think about where all these people had gone...), and so far he had been able to avoid being inside a building as it happened, but it worried him how the blasts were growing stronger and closer to one another.

It seemed the spirit was getting impatient.

Jongdae's plan was not to attack it until their array was complete, so he should still have plenty of energy left since he was not charging his staff; however, if not done correctly, concentrating Qi in specific parts of the body could be equally taxing. If he was not doing it as he should...

 _Trust him_ , the panicked voice in his head urged him, _trust him and focus on what you have to do_.

He exhaled, controlled his breathing, and went on.

By his calculations, he should be more than halfway done by now.

Their array consisted of a semicircle around the monster; while he drew the marks, it was Jongdae's duty to keep it more or less in place till they were done. Looking back at his most recent markings, he could see a series of faint spiritual lines floating slightly above the ground, composing a complex combination of circles and lines.

The advantage of using spiritual energy instead of physical conductors such as stone or ink was that it was not as easy to destroy: as long as Jongdae did not faint, the array would not be affected.

Kyungsoo just could not make any mistakes.

One more, and one more, and yet another one; Chanyeol's forehead was dripping with sweat, but Kyungsoo could not be bothered to think about it. Even if the priest noticed it, he could think of an explanation later. For now, he focused all his thoughts into making the right marks, calculating the right number of steps, drawing the right symbols.

He was nearly done... just a few more drawings now... some more fifty meters ahead...

He slipped inside one of the few houses that were still more or less intact and got into the bedroom at the back. When he touched the wooden floor with the tip of the staff, a series of lines connecting that dot to the previous ones he had drawn suddenly appeared, filling the room with a feeble light.

He wiped the sweat from his face with one of his sleeves and walked towards the door.

Only a couple more―

A piece of clay hit his head.

The ceiling was falling.

No, it was not just the ceiling...

Something heavy had knocked it down, _was still knocking it down_ ―

His quick reflexes allowed him to react fast enough despite the limitations of Chanyeol's body.

The entrance door splintered into pieces as the ceiling collapsed.

He rolled over towards the opening that it had left just as the roof fell down where he had been standing.

Right after the beams and the tiles, a giant hand made of bodies and flesh and bones came down as well, smashing everything under it into smithereens.

Once outside, Kyungsoo immediately stood up and looked back.

The creature was close (how had he not noticed it before?!) and had its head turned towards him.

The being was supernatural by nature. It was surely able to see the array...

"Kyungsoo-ssi!" Jongdae screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran towards him.

The monster's other arm swept the land in the priest's direction. The debris accumulated into a huge heap as the arms moved at a fast speed towards Jongdae, but the man's response was even faster: with energy concentrated on his feet, he jumped high into the air, his black form disappearing against the dark night sky.

When he landed next to Kyungsoo, it seemed to the naked eye he had descended directly from heaven.

"Sorry, it was my fault," Jongdae puffed, slightly out of air. "I ended up moving too far north and he caught sight of the array."

"You really should have been more careful," Kyungsoo scolded him, only because he knew that mistake had been out of slackness ― Jongdae was capable of doing so much better. "But never mind that ― how are you doing?"

Jongdae understood what he was asking about. "I'm quite alright. I feel like I haven't used even a quarter of my energy yet."

"Ok." Kyungsoo's eyes were unwavering: he followed the creature's every movement as it brought its arm back to the front of its body, supporting itself on its knuckles.

"Were you able to observe the array when you were running towards me?" The priest seemed confused and hesitated to answer; he most likely did not understand what Kyungsoo meant with such questions.

"Do you think you could finish the array? Do you know where to make the last marks?" He clarified.

"Ah― I think so," Jongdae quickly answered, "but Kyungsoo-ssi, you couldn't possibly be suggesting that we switch places."

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting." The monster in front of them did not have eyes ― at least, not an identifiable pair of its own. Yet, Kyungsoo felt as if the evil spirit inside was staring at him, like a rattlesnake readying to strike. "I've become its target, so this bastard is not going to leave me alone. The array is almost done―"

"―but you don't have any powers―"

"―and I can hold it off just enough. It won't take very long for you to finish."

The only time Kyungsoo's eyes left the creature was to look into Jongdae's own. Without diverting them, he grabbed the priest's free hand, placed the tip of the staff on his palm, and closed Jongdae's fingers around it.

"I'll draw it back towards the area of influence of the array. You finish this."

Jongdae swallowed drily. He knew they did not have much time to discuss.

Besides, Kyungsoo was right anyway.

"Be careful."

Kyungsoo nodded. "You too."

A second after, Chanyeol's long legs were propelling him over a fallen beam as the monster's arm rose in his direction.

It took all of Jongdae's self-control not to run after him; yet, he was not strong-willed enough to move right away either.

He anxiously watched Kyungsoo roll forward just as the monster's arm dug a meter into the earth right behind him.

Kyungsoo then slipped inside a half-collapsed building. The creature used its other arm to sweep the whole structure down, but Chanyeol's body had already resurfaced some steps behind it ― he had slid through some hole in the back.

Only at this moment it occurred to him that the longer it took him to complete the array, the longer Kyungsoo would be in danger.

With that thought seared into his mind, he took off.

Fortunately, there were only two marks left to make. It anguished him that they were both in the opposite direction Kyungsoo was running towards.

Most likely it was intentional on his part, in order to guarantee Jongdae would not be interrupted.

On the other hand, that also meant they became more and more distant from each other.

The farther away the priest walked, the more he thought he would not be able to save Kyungsoo if the creature decided to attack him seriously. In their fight, it seemed to Jongdae as though the monster was not employing its full strength, although it did get more vicious as the priest kept evading its charges.

Perhaps it was worried about losing too many of its bodies, since that meant not only literally losing parts of itself, but also chunks of its Yang energy; after all, when those people died, their living energy evaporated alongside their fragmented souls.

If, for some reason, it decided not to hold back anymore...

He shook his head.

It was not only easier, but also much more productive to focus on his current task instead of entertaining such thoughts.

It helped his focus that Kyungsoo was depending on him.

After a sharp turn onto what used to be a street, Jongdae found the spot he was looking for. He bumped it lightly with the end tip of his staff, and immediately a series of shining lines sprung into view (well, his view, at least; people with no spiritual powers would not notice them).

The last circle was almost complete; all that was missing was the very last coordinate, and then he would be able to finally release the spell...

A sudden shift in the air made Jongdae turn around.

He could feel something akin to a breeze ― only, it was not wind that was blowing...

Goosebumps arose on his nape.

It seemed a huge boulder had been suddenly placed on top of him; every movement was heavy, strained.

A single drop of cold sweat trickled down his temple from under his headband.

That kind of heaviness, the type that impacted those living the most…

The creature was manipulating the Yin.

While the monster's constant attacks against the priest had weakened its Yang power, it was still nighttime: the spirit, as an undead, was endowed with Yin energy. Normally, nighttime would allow it to have better control over the body it possessed or the bodies that were under its command, besides enhancing its own powers ― that was how far such strengthening usually went.

That the spirit was able to exploit not only its own Yin energy, but also effectively interfere with the Yin energy in the environment, was an entirely unexpected development.

Only... it made sense.

So far, Jongdae had not quite understood where the fires had come from. In all villages they had come across so far, even in the one they were in at that moment ― they all had been burnt, either partially or all the way into ashes. When Jongdae and Kyungsoo observed the monster cleaning out an entire patch of land, the fires had also already started when they got there.

So far, he had not been able to understand how those fires had started.

It obviously had something to do with the creature they were chasing; yet, Yin energy converted into water, not fire. However, Yin and Yang were faces of the same coin, points in the same gradient. It was theoretically possible to accumulate a lot of Yin energy into a single spot, to make it so heavy and compacted and dense that it would reach its turning point where all the Yin would be converted into Yang.

It was impossible to do so relying solely on one's own energy, though: anyone's body, no matter if living or dead or in-between, would likely explode from such an intense concentration of energy (if they were even able to gather it from within themselves in the first place).

If one were able to manipulate the Yin in the world around them, however...

Considering he had seen signs of that spirit indeed being capable of such a deed before, Jongdae snapped out of his trance and forced himself to move.

The situation had just become a lot more dramatic.

He started with small steps at first, fighting the soreness in his muscles bit by bit, getting himself used to the pain and the weightiness in his legs. Once he could not feel the discomfort as strongly, he sped up his movements ― and soon he was running, rushing through the destroyed streets and over the debris, his mind fighting against the despair that threatened to take over his head.

He just needed to finish that diagram, and Kyungsoo would no longer be in danger.

Although... they were still quite far from each other, and their array would not eliminate their target.

Would he be able to make it back to Kyungsoo in time?

Meanwhile, Chanyeol's body raced through the city as if he were in a steeplechase.

He slid through half-fallen doors, jumped over roof tiles, threw himself into accidental trenches, always escaping the creature's attacks by a very narrow margin.

He had to rely much more on his instincts than he would've liked, but it was inevitable. Chanyeol had never trained his Qi, which meant the spiritual channels in his body had not been developed. If Kyungsoo were to suddenly infuse his energy into him, it would be to the same effect as using a wooden instead of an iron kettle to warm up the water: Chanyeol's body would not be able to resist the energy and might end up melting during the process.

All he could do was to use that human body to the best of his abilities.

It did not take him long to notice, though, just like Jongdae had, that the creature was not using all of its force.

Maybe that was actually the main reason he had been able to survive that far.

Also like the priest, Kyungsoo soon figured that the most probable reason was that it was attempting to preserve its sources of Yang energy (that is, the living people it had absorbed): the monster always attacked him using the same parts of its arms and legs, the ones that were already squashed and destroyed.

The hesitation such caution instilled in its movements granted Kyungsoo yet another advantage.

Amidst all his running and sliding, it took Kyungsoo some time to realize that same shift in the air; after all, because he had been living in Hell for who knows how many human years, he was much more used to being surrounded by Yin energy than Jongdae was.

He was not able to properly look back at the creature as he ran; fortunately, however, the attacks grew less and less frequent, until they ceased altogether.

Kyungsoo slowed down to a trot and peeked over his shoulder before coming to a full stop.

Indeed, it was just like he imagined it would be.

A giant ball of blue energy hovered in front of the monster; many arms from the bodies still intact facing it were extended forward, probably in an attempt to keep it under control. Kyungsoo could see the ball was shrinking slightly by the minute, the blue light circulating faster and faster, brighter and brighter.

He remembered the seas of fire they had witnessed before.

He looked around, found a large rock, wiped the dust off of it with his hands and sat down.

Once again, there was nothing he could do. He might as well be comfortable and rest while he observed.

From all the punishments of Hell, death by fire had always been his least favorite. He thought it to be of little creativity, and of very poor taste.

"Should have expected as much from you," he muttered, more to himself than to the eight-meter-tall monster quite a distance away. "Though, it fits a lowly trash like you."

On the edge of the village, an already recovered (or, rather, adapted) Jongdae dashed down the road like lightning.

Only the farthest eastern coordinate was missing. It was unfortunate that it was at a significant longer distance than the others, but all he could think about was _running_ ― he couldn’t waste time on worrying about anything else.

The waning crescent moon didn’t do a great job at illuminating the world below it. Besides, the spots of fire here and there prevented the priest’s eyes from adjusting to the dark as they normally would have. For those reasons, it was only when he got closer ― in fact too close ― that he was able to spot the tallest heap of debris he had come across so far.

In both height and extension, it actually resembled a wall.

Kyungsoo frowned as the ball of Yin energy became even smaller, dangerously so.

He personally did not care if that body he was in was burnt to a crisp, but Jongdae would surely lament it and he did not want that.

If Jongdae had time to observe the structures more attentively, he would see they had originally been the richest buildings in the village ― hence their magnitude, which translated to that much more rubble after they had been razed down.

Jongdae did not have the mind to care about that, though. He was running too fast to stop, and had to instead to make the abrupt decision to jump high into the air to avoid colliding against the makeshift wall.

Since he barely had any time to prepare, he ended up using too much energy; he flew some fifty meters high and the whole village came into view under him.

Although his eyes were fixed on the ball of Yin energy, a sudden blink of light in the sky caught Kyungsoo’s attention.

Unfortunately, it caught the creature’s attention as well.

Jongdae had at some point reattached the tip to the body of his staff. Since the spell hadn’t been activated yet, it was still shining ― faintly, but enough to be seen against the vast darkness of the sky.

The priest reached the highest point of his rise; his body floated midair for some seconds before gravity kicked in to pull him down.

In a jolt, the monster shifted its massive body in Jongdae’s direction. The energy had not turned into Yang yet, but it was already the size of a pig ― in this case, much too small for safety.

Chanyeol’s body sprung up from the rock where he was sitting.

 _Shit_ , he would not make it there in time…

Since he was too focused on what he needed to do, the priest didn’t even notice the movement in his peripheral vision. Now that he was far away from any sources of light, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He was able to better see the landscape below, and concentrated on landing in the right place.

For all its intelligence, it had taken the creature all that time to realize its pursuit of Kyungsoo had been useless, and that Jongdae had taken the lead in finishing the array.

Now that it had, though, Kyungsoo quickly understood what it was planning to do.

A colossal blast of fire might have been more effective in eliminating the two of them, but it was evident there would not be enough time. Besides, since it only needed to get rid of one… a burst of energy ought to do the trick.

Considering how much energy it had amassed, the explosion would be too extensive. Not even with his supernatural speed would the priest be able to evade it in time.

Jongdae’s eyes surveyed the golden lines shimmering across the village below him as he fell. There it was ― he found the precise spot where to draw the last mark.

His eyes were fixated on that single spot, and he became blind to everything else.

The ball of energy was not getting smaller anymore. With its change in strategy, the creature focused instead on increasing its intensity by injecting some Yang energy into it.

The light inside shone brighter.

Kyungsoo forced himself to run the fastest he could. He needed to get closer―

The priest was only about twenty meters high. Now that he was almost reaching the ground, for the first time the shape of the creature to his left caught his eye ― and so did the dazzling circle of light that was floating in front of it.

Some of the bodies that were extending their arms forward to control that energy exploded as the ball became too unstable.

Chanyeol’s body was barely able to dodge the lumps of flesh that were shot in his direction.

He had finally arrived where he wanted… but what was he supposed to do now that he was standing in front of that creature?

It was not that the priest was not worried about that much concentrated energy, or about the fact the monster seemed to have shifted towards him ― but from that distance, he couldn’t do much. At least, Kyungsoo seemed to be safe. His best chance was still to complete the array.

His eyes turned back to the spot for the last mark.

He blasted some energy from his palms, propelling his descent even faster.

The creature seemed to panic: some of the faces throughout its body started moving on their own, blinking, changing their expressions. It was losing control.

The ball was not a regular sphere anymore: some rays escaped as it shifted to an elliptical shape, its light the brightest achieved so far.

It was ready to release it.

Kyungsoo felt bile rising in his throat.

Jongdae was almost there, just one more second and the array would be complete ― but that blast would surely hit him faster.

So much energy would most likely eradicate him completely… body _and_ soul.

In those last couple of months, Kyungsoo had thought a lot about how he would feel if Jongdae died. Although he wasn’t even human himself, just imagining it pained him greatly.

If even his soul were to disappear, however… If his existence was to be completely obliterated…

If Kyungsoo could not find him anymore, not in the Human Realm, not in Heaven, not in Hell―

Rage and despair boiled inside him till his body could not contain them anymore.

For a moment, he lost sight of his goals, of the situation he was in ― of himself. A human body was not enough to repress him; those feelings of his, too intense, too much beyond the scope of human sensibility.

His soul started to escape his vessel. A blackish aura surrounded him, visible for anyone who had the power to see it.

Kyungsoo’s face was projected on top of Chanyeol’s own.

“Don’t you dare,” he snarled, his voice once more overlapping with Chanyeol’s ― like hearing one voice in one ear, but a different one in the other.

The creature did stop. It turned its head to him, and one could almost say it was… curious.

“Oh!” There was no audible sound; yet, Kyungsoo felt he could hear the voice inside his head. “It is you.”

With that second of distraction, Jongdae finally landed, the tip of his staff touching the ground at the same time as his feet.

The final marks in the array connected. The feeble golden lines throughout the village suddenly shone ten times brighter.

With a swift sequence of seals, the priest finished the enchantment ― then touched the ground with his bare palm.

In front of Kyungsoo, an incredible scene started.

The ball of energy dissipated into the air.

And the creature fell apart.

The bodies of those people that were apparently waking up just seconds ago were the first to detach. Somewhat fortunately, the creature was disassembling bottom up, meaning no one fell from great heights ― the bodies piled up as they were released, the ones alive still too groggy to move.

The blackish halo around Chanyeol’s body disappeared, as did any other signs of Kyungsoo’s aural projection.

He observed the situation attentively for a second before rushing forward to remove the children from the heap; their fragile little bodies would not be able to endure the weight.

As some of the people recovered consciousness, they either crawled or rolled down from the pile; soon they were spread over a wide area, moaning and wailing, most coated with black mucus, the unlucky ones also covered in rotting pieces of flesh from the deceased.

The highest point of the heap was now not taller than a person.

With no immediate risk due to the crushing weight any longer, Kyungsoo stepped back, letting his eyes dart across the field.

Somewhere, it was still there.

He did not know what that spirit’s plan was going to be: would it confront him, or would it try to get away?

Since their first contact with him had already been in that monstrous form, Kyungsoo did not know what to expect appearance-wise: the spirit could be in any of those bodies, even the children he had helped save.

A hand grabbed his ankle.

He looked down.

It was a woman. Her gown was torn and barely covered her private parts, but in this context that was quite obviously the least of her worries.

She lifted her head to look at him with half-lidded eyes. She wiped the black mucus from her mouth with her forearm and parted her lips. Speaking seemed to require a huge effort, yet she also seemed determined to do so.

“My baby…”

Was she looking for her child? Kyungsoo looked at all the children he had laid on the ground. He couldn’t tell which one was hers.

“How old is your child?” He asked softly. If they could narrow the possibilities down…

She shook her head. “Not… searching…” She coughed, and more mucus left her mouth. “My son… is…”

The woman slurred more words, but Kyungsoo could not understand her.

He wished he could help, but there were hundreds of people there. Besides, even though he had helped most of the children, there was no way of knowing whether her child hadn’t been one of the victims in the monster’s attacks…

“I’ll be back to help you find your child,” he reassured her, “but right now there’s something I need to do.”

He was about to turn away and leave when she once more grabbed his ankle with much more force than her feeble situation suggested she could.

Puzzled, he turned to her.

She had a resolute expression in her eyes.

In consideration to her efforts, Kyungsoo knelt and leaned towards her.

“Evil…” Her voice was very weak; he could barely catch what she was saying, “…spirit…”

“The evil spirit?”

She nodded. “It… possessed…”

Kyungsoo understood. Suddenly, he was a lot more interested. “Madam, do you see your child here?”

Instinctively, he glanced at the children lying next to each other some distance to his right. None of them seemed to have recovered consciousness yet.

“No… child… son…”

Her head fell to the ground again. No matter how strong-willed she was, considering what she was saying… she had been absorbed in the very beginning. It was only natural that she should be tired.

Nonetheless… Kyungsoo needed that information.

“Madam, I’m sorry― Do you see your son here?”

In one last effort before passing out, she lifted her hand and tremblingly pointed at something behind Kyungsoo.

He spun around in time to see a youngster sneaking out from the group and towards the fringes of the village.

There was no doubt who that was, considering the aggressive energy that seemed to flow out of such a young man in waves, despite his obvious attempt at being stealthy.

Some ‘people’ just couldn’t help it.

Kyungsoo didn’t shout at him, didn’t give him any warning. He just ran in his direction, taking advantage of all the voices groaning in the air to muffle the sound of his steps.

The man only turned to him when he was already close, when it was too late to escape.

Chanyeol’s large hand punched his right cheek, throwing him off balance. A second punch then toppled him, and the youth fell onto the ground.

The body the spirit had possessed had not yet left his teens. Nevertheless, he was tall ― actually taller than even Chanyeol ―, with a beautiful sharp face that gave him a fierce atmosphere.

He had been caught by surprise; yet, after having been thrown on the ground, he hesitated for just a short moment before sitting with his legs crossed as if nothing had happened, one of his hands softly caressing the cheek where Kyungsoo had punched him the strongest.

“What an honor to have His Highness sent after me.” The boy’s eyes had a naturally unfriendly look to them, which was only intensified by the animosity of the spirit now controlling him. “Have you been demoted, now in charge of chasing lower spirits in the Human Realm?”

Kyungsoo’s eyebrows slanted slightly with contempt, but that was the extent of his reaction.

The spirit had evidently expected his provocation to be taken more seriously. With a slight frown, he pursed his lips as he eyed Chanyeol’s body up and down.

“Why did you choose this vessel? Trying to compensate for something?” He signaled to Chanyeol’s height with his other hand. Kyungsoo showed no reaction whatsoever. “Then what do you think about my vessel? Pretty handsome, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. Makes me wonder why you’d choose to hide him under hundreds of other bodies.”

The boy smirked. “To protect him― me, of course.” He folded his arms. “By the way, that was a very complex array you and that friend of yours drew. I’d never seen it before.”

“That’s because there are very few uses for it. An uneducated low life like yourself wouldn’t know it.” The corner of the youth’s lips twitched. “It’s called a Soul Binding Spell. It binds a soul to a single body.”

“I see. So that’s how you forced me out of all my other vessels.” He looked to the side, to where all those men and women were still lying on the floor, like the aftermath of a war field. “It’s a shame to have lost all that delicious Yang energy, but at least now I feel a lot more free. It seems not to be a good idea to have such a big body after all.”

“That hideous body suited you better than this one right now, though. This handsome face is wasted on you.”

The man snickered. “You know I could say the same about you. Ah, right ― you don’t care… or so you say.” He uncrossed his legs, folding only one of them up so that he could rest his face against his knee. “By the way, where’s that friend of yours? The priest?”

Kyungsoo’s lips tightened. “Don’t mention him with that foul mouth of yours.”

“Uh, so _scary_ ― not.” That disgusting smile was still on his face; such a wicked expression, that no matter how handsome that face objectively was, it was almost impossible to acknowledge the beauty in him. Anyone would feel compelled to distance themselves from that person, as if he carried some unnamed, but tangible disease.

The youth got up slowly, wiped the dust off of its robes, and nonchalantly cracked his knuckles.

“You know, Your Highness the Hell Official… I’ve been observing you, and it seems to me this vessel of yours is quite ordinary, is it not?” He stepped forward. Kyungsoo did not flinch. “Those punches of yours were quite normal too, but I figured you might be afraid to damage this body too much ― it is not mine, after all… but don’t worry, there’s nothing left of this boy’s soul to save, so you don’t have to go easy on me. I made sure of it.”

He rested one of his hands on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Once more, Kyungsoo expressed no outer reaction. Unfortunately to him, though, the spirit had spent a long time with him in Hell; it was perfectly able to read the expression in his eyes. Even if he said nothing, even if he did not outright refuse his provocations, the spirit could still see he was effective in getting under his skin.

“Anyway, that’s not important.” He squeezed Chanyeol’s shoulder and got a bit closer. “As I was saying― Even though, when I was preparing that nice explosion, you called my attention with that powerful aura of yours… right now you can’t use your powers, can you?” Kyungsoo’s face betrayed him; the boy laughed. “You’re just trying to keep me here till that priest gets here, isn’t it? But you must know he won’t be able to exorcise me…”

The youth drifted off, seemingly deep in thought. It required all of Kyungsoo’s patience not to punch him again, or to throw his hand off of his shoulder.

In the end, it pissed him off that the spirit was right about many of the things he brought up.

In particular, the fact that, in Chanyeol’s body, Kyungsoo was quite powerless. Without Jongdae’s help, he wouldn’t be able to handle that spirit at all.

In a twisted way, he was rather lucky the spirit seemed to be in the mood to provoke him instead of outright killing his vessel. Perhaps that was precisely the reason he didn’t: eliminating Chanyeol would not even tickle Kyungsoo, who could come back by possessing another body a second after.

Of course, the spirit did not know of the special relationship between Chanyeol and Jongdae, which made Kyungsoo value the body he was in quite a lot. A small comfort: it seemed he hadn’t given himself away in that regard.

“I don’t understand, though…” The boy eventually continued, rubbing his chin with his free hand. “If Hell sent you here in a powerless vessel, that means you didn’t come here to catch me… yet, you helped that priest get rid of my previous body, even though you know he cannot exorcise me. If he tries to perform the ritual on me, he will just waste his powers. Which means…” He stared right into the black pool of Kyungsoo’s eyes. “You brought him here on a suicide mission.”

Kyungsoo’s hands closed into fists.

The boy did not miss this detail.

“I wonder… why? Is it personal, or is it an official instruction? How scandalous ― Hell’s engaging in homicides now? Is that not against heavenly rules?”

“Shut up.”

The spirit smirked again. “Oh― Am I right?”

Kyungsoo was not planning on dignifying his questions with a response; no matter how on point he might have been, something else had caught Kyungsoo’s eyes and improved his mood significantly.

The change in his expression, even if it only manifested in his eyes, did not escape the boy’s sight. He frowned, gazing at Chanyeol’s face in confusion.

“Why did you get happy all of a s―”

He could not complete his question, as a foot coming from nowhere hit his ribs and threw him flying across the street.

The young man disappeared into the rubble, lifting a huge cloud of dust in the process.

“Are you alright?” Jongdae asked Kyungsoo right away, reaching out to touch his face, his shoulder, his arm. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. Chanyeol’s fine.” He lifted his arms, showing there was not a single scratch in his body. “He got distracted when you jumped, so I was even able to rest a bit.”

Jongdae removed his hand, sighing in relief.

“I’m glad.” The priest looked around, at the victims that were still lying down. “I thought I wouldn’t finish it in time… I thought that blast it was preparing would surely hit me. I don’t know what delayed him.”

Kyungsoo’s poker face was flawless. “I don’t know either, but I’m thankful it did.” Jongdae agreed.

“But now, we need to help all these people―”

“Jongdae-ssi, _focus_.” He glanced in the direction the youth had been thrown at. “That’s not your priority.”

The priest fidgeted where he stood. It was in his nature to help; it was also obvious many of those people would not be able to recover on their own without some external aid. He was particularly capacitated in that regard, as he could inject some of his life energy into them, and help relieve some of the negative influence from the Yin imbalance that was affecting them.

However, Kyungsoo was right. None of that would be of any worth if that spirit managed to escape.

He gripped his staff, lips pursed in concentration.

Before he proceeded further, Kyungsoo halted him by holding his arm. “Remember our plan.”

They both knew what that reminder was about.

Jongdae averted his eyes, but concurred with a small bob of his head.

Then he was gone.

Kyungsoo folded his arms; his fingers dug into his muscles, but he didn’t even notice what he was doing.

Amongst all the things that spirit said to him, one of them had bothered him the most.

It was true: Jongdae could not exorcise it. It was also true that Kyungsoo knew.

However, there was no way Kyungsoo could reveal that information to Jongdae without disclosing his own identity.

By now, the boy had already gotten up. Although the kick had been powerful enough to send him several meters away, he was not quite human: the abnormal spiritual energy inside him also gave him exceptional physical resistance.

Most likely, the spirit had not chosen that body only from how good it looked; Kyungsoo did not doubt that guy had originally been a cultivator of some sort― hence capable of withstanding the spirit’s powers flowing through him.

Jongdae reached him.

This time, the youth had seen him coming.

He defended against the priest’s staff using his bare arms.

It was a physical clash: Jongdae had not infused it with his energy just yet. Still, the impact was enough to push them both a couple of meters away.

The boy smirked as he stroked one of his forearms.

“I don’t feel pain, you know… but I don’t want to spoil this beautiful body of mine. Oh, wait― It actually isn’t mine, is it? Would you mind going easier on me, Priest-nim? Wouldn’t want that nice lady over there to bury her son in pieces, would you?”

Jongdae’s brows wrinkled deeper in concentration.

Despite the effect these words had on him, he did not hesitate, and charged at the boy again.

Five rings of his staff floated in the air now. Kyungsoo was impressed he had been able to spend so little energy thus far.

Unlike before, though, Jongdae’s attack was not as obvious. When the young man lifted his arms in the air to defend against him, the priest swiftly spun his staff horizontally to hit the side of his legs.

The spirit tried to evade by jumping a step back, but he was too slow: the staff caught one of his legs.

He tottered, but managed not to fall by putting all his weight on his other leg, then somersaulting back to avoid Jongdae’s next attack.

“Ignore what I’ve just said.” He scoffed, running backwards as Jongdae approached him again. “I thought you were gentle and kind, considering you’re a priest, but it was a stupid assumption. If you’re traveling with him, then it’s obvious you’re not.”

A confused look clouded Jongdae’s eyes.

The spirit was not surprised; from his conversation with Kyungsoo, he had figured the priest was still unaware he had a Hell Official as his companion. He laughed when Kyungsoo glowered at him from a distance.

It was useless to try to keep up with them now: Chanyeol’s body was not as strong or as fast as theirs. All Kyungsoo could do was show his discontent, and hope the spirit would somehow not tell Jongdae the truth ― perhaps due to fear of how Kyungsoo would punish him once they returned to hell.

For whatever reason, the spirit seemed satisfied with his taunting and did not carry on.

Maybe it was because Jongdae had closed the distance and was attacking him again.

When he started running, he went back in the direction the people were, instead of towards the edge of the village as before; due to these circumstances, the priest could not strike him as freely. He missed most of his attempts, but even when he managed to hit the boy, in most cases his attacks just grazed him, not enough to make him stop.

Still, it was enough not to give him any time to breathe or to attack him back.

Kyungsoo followed them while keeping his distance. He attentively observed them ― most specially, Jongdae. In that form, he knew the spirit was no match to the priest’s combat power; however, he was still worried.

By that point, he knew Jongdae too well. Too well to know it would be hard for him to stick to their plan.

The two combatants reached the center of the field, where the creature’s body had come apart. Only the crushed bodies were left ― pieces of bone and masses of flesh.

Jongdae treaded lightly, using a bit of his powers as not to let his feet sink into the puddle of human remains.

The youth didn’t care. He was ankle deep into the mass and did not seem to mind it at all.

“Didn’t you like it?” He asked as he bent backwards to evade an attack, “the way I assembled that body together? It was pretty cool, wasn’t it?”

The priest scowled. This time, he couldn’t help answering. “It was disgusting.”

“What do you mean? Ah, was it the smell, maybe? But, you know~ keeping the deceased in the body actually helped the living survive, you know? It eased the impact on them…”

The next attack was faster, much more vicious, and struck the boy straight in the chest.

He fell on his back, sinking half of his body into the bloody mass.

“You are repugnant.” He pressed the tip of his staff against the boy’s chest. When all the rings fell forward and touched him, it was like an electric current had run through him: the youth’s eyes widened and his whole body went slack.

Kyungsoo had just returned, after helping some people close by move a bit farther. As expected, Jongdae had been able to immobilize him without much of a hassle.

In a normal situation, the next step would be to exorcise the spirit. Kyungsoo had been able (or so he hoped) to convince him to perform a paralyzing step instead: because that spirit had been exceedingly evil, he argued, most likely forces from either Heaven or Hell would come to settle the score with it, and it was never a good idea to meddle with otherworldly affairs.

“Keep him in that body,” Kyungsoo had argued, “paralyzed, till some force comes to take him away. It is also the best chance this boy has of surviving.”

It was not often that Heaven or Hell Officials would come to retrieve evil spirits from human hands, but the last line of argument had been more convincing to the priest’s ears. He agreed to that plan, and promised to keep to it till the end.

“What you did to these good people… was unforgivable,” Jongdae held the staff with only one hand now, as he started making seals with the other, “but… still…”

Oh. Oh no.

Kyungsoo rushed in their direction.

Soon Chanyeol’s feet were sinking deep into the flesh on the ground.

Kyungsoo hated getting dirty, but at that moment, his mind was filled with just one thought.

_No, Jongdae, don’t do this―_

He finished making the seals. The boy’s body floated in the air, and so did Jongdae’s; both enveloped in a misty aura, only visible to those with spiritual powers.

In their plan, there was a chance they could save the boy… but that spirit would certainly be going to hell.

Jongdae could not accept it.

He was trying to save that evil spirit’s soul.

“Jongdae-ssi, stop it!” Kyungsoo begged him once more, but it was as if the priest just couldn’t hear him.

He approached, tried to touch him; however, it was as if the two were wrapped in an electrical field that repelled anyone and anything from outside.

Kyungsoo’s heart was pounding. This couldn’t be happening…

Like the spirit had said, it could not be exorcised.

Kyungsoo knew it could not have its karma overridden either.

Both impossibilities were due to the same reason, the one Kyungsoo could not tell Jongdae because it was privileged information, the kind it would be hard for him to justify having: the spirit had already been judged and sent to hell.

Exorcisms were like throwing someone down a tunnel, one they could not climb back from. The end destination was always the same: the doors of the purgatory, where souls waited to be sorted and judged.

Normally, all souls would fall on that tunnel on their own once they died. Some managed to avoid the fall because their attachments to Earth were too strong, like ropes that prevented them from dropping down. Still, all that was needed for those wandering souls was a slight push in the right direction, and they would fall right in.

It was just natural, part of the cycle of life and death.

In that spirit’s case, though, that tunnel had already disappeared.

For a soul that had already been judged, the doors of the purgatory would be closed till they reincarnated and died again.

The worst of it, however, was that that spirit had been sent to Hell to repent for its sins… yet, even after spending many human years in Hell, under Kyungsoo’s supervision… there had been no improvement at all.

Its sentence was originally of five hundred human years, but they had to continuously update the count up: it seemed the more time that spirit spent in Hell, the more evil its thoughts became. No matter how much pain it suffered, what punishments it endured, none of it had any effect on its conscience. Judges and Hell Officials were baffled alike.

Jongdae would not be able to make such a being repent… and would not be able to exorcise it either.

Best case hypothesis― he would waste his energy in vain.

Worst case hypothesis…

For the first time, they would see what happened when the spirit fought back and did not accept Jongdae’s teachings.

Kyungsoo stood as close as he could, staring so hard at the priest’s face he could almost feel his eyeballs bulging in their sockets.

Jongdae’s expression was peacefully calm at first; but, because he was watching him so intently, Kyungsoo was able to detect when it started to change, even if ever so slightly.

At first, it seemed as if he was just witnessing something unpleasant: his eyebrows furrowed; his forehead wrinkled; his nostrils flared; his lips tightened. Kyungsoo thought he could not get any more worried ― but next, his expression changed for the worst.

Pain.

The priest’s lips parted and quivered, twisted down on the sides. His eyebrows lowered, drawing the skin tightly around his eyes, now squeezed shut. He started moaning, but Kyungsoo could not tell whether that was an actual sound or his spirit.

Alongside his moans, there was an eerie laughter.

“Let go of him, you bastard!” He screamed, not sure whether that was his voice or Chanyeol’s; whether he was screaming with his own lungs in his soul form, or with his current physical body. “Don’t you dare hurt him!”

More laughter.

More moans.

Kyungsoo tried punching the boy, but the field of light around them hindered him again.

“Let him go!” He shouted. “LET HIM GO!”

The laughs got louder and louder; it was the same voice, repeated a hundred― no, a thousand times, like a crowd surrounding them, mocking him and his inability to interfere.

 _FUCK_.

Chanyeol’s eyes flared red.

Kyungsoo injected his spiritual power into Chanyeol’s hand. The skin on the tips of his fingers blackened; the veins on its back bulged and changed color.

He closed it into a fist and punched the light field again.

The explosion sent him flying.

He hit his head as his body fell on the hard ground.

Chanyeol’s body was simply human. He got dizzy; for who knows how many seconds, his vision blurred, and all he could hear was a buzzing in his ears. He did not know what direction he had come from; where Jongdae and that spirit were.

He rolled, got on all fours.

His stomach turned. He hadn’t eaten anything in days; he dry heaved a couple of times, feelings his insides turning inside out.

There was no time. He needed to get back there.

He tried standing up, but his balance was still off.

He fell back on his side.

His head was spinning.

He could still hear that laugh.

He looked up, his vision finally clearing and regaining focus.

He had been thrown some five meters away, but those two were still where they had been before. The light field had been dissolved, and so had the spell.

Jongdae was awake, supporting himself with his staff. His legs were visibly trembling; he barely seemed able to stand.

That disgusting youth was in front of him, looking completely unaffected.

“Interesting,” he commented, swiping one of his fingers across Jongdae’s face, “I have never seen this kind of spell. I can understand why they’d want to get rid of you.”

He turned his head towards Kyungsoo, as if he always knew he was there observing them. He most likely did.

“I wonder…” He picked a large femur from the ground. One of its tips was splintered, as sharp as a short sword. “They haven’t been nice to me, but… should I help them?”

Kyungsoo widened his eyes.

 _No_.

_No no no no._

_NO_.

Laughing, the boy slashed the air twice, once on each side.

Without support, Jongdae’s body fell to the ground.

Next to him fell each of his arms, now detached from his body.

One of them was still holding his staff.


	6. Chapter 6

Kyungsoo wrapped Chanyeol’s hands in the bandages the villagers had managed to retrieve from the ruins.

After he was done, the cotton successfully hid the blackish bruises ― unusual lightning patterns ― that reached as far as his forearms.

He was not sure whether Chanyeol’s skin would ever recover. Spiritual scarring was rare, especially with such intensity; on the other hand, the source of the energy that had hurt him ― Kyungsoo himself ― was still within his body, which was also very uncommon. Most hosts that were damaged to that degree died too soon (usually right after they were injured) to have a chance at healing.

Even if Jongdae resented him for hurting Chanyeol’s body, Kyungsoo wouldn’t mind. The priest could hate him for all he cared ― he would not regret it.

After all, if he had not taken action, Jongdae would’ve certainly died.

Kyungsoo remembered his shock all too clear: Jongdae bleeding on the floor from the two large gashes on his shoulders where his arms had been, the spirit whistling as he walked away, and the villagers that had already recovered were observing the whole scene with wide, frightened eyes.

He knew then he had no time to waste.

The spirit knew it as well ― knew, too, that Kyungsoo would have no mind to worry about chasing him.

Not but a moment after Jongdae’s body hit the ground, Kyungsoo was already by his side.

He knelt next to him; his pants were almost immediately drenched in blood, too warm to be of the flesh that covered the ground around them.

He first pressed a specific acupoint on Jongdae’s body to reduce the bleeding. As the priest’s heart slowed down almost to a stop, Kyungsoo reached for his arms, dropped on each side of him, and placed them over Jongdae’s back.

His chest tightened as he loosened the fingers holding the staff.

They were still soft and warm and felt very much alive ― which wouldn’t have creeped him out if it wasn’t for the fact they were Jongdae’s. Yet, he was too alert to allow himself to be stunned, even as in shock as he was.

If he did not act quickly, Jongdae _would_ die.

He managed to get the staff off of the priest’s hand and tossed it somewhere to his back.

Next, he leaned closer to observe the wounds on Jongdae’s arms. Somewhat fortunately (although even thinking of such a word in that context felt _wrong_ ), it had been a clean cut: the spirit had not infused his attack with any type of physical or spiritual poison. There were just the usual considerations regarding the risk of infection ― but those were easy to solve.

He picked up a small dagger from his belt and cut off some of the fabric of Jongdae’s sleeves around the ends of his arms, then did the same with the fabric of his robes around his open stumps.

He put the dagger away again and looked at his dirty hands.

At least that blood would serve some purpose.

With his index fingers, he drew a symbol in the back of each of Chanyeol’s hands. After he murmured a quick incantation, the bloody red lines changed color, darkening as if they had been etched into his skin, and shone in dark purple.

Chanyeol’s body was bound to suffer a backlash from what he was about to do. He hoped such protective charm could at least help him last long enough to finish.

Kyungsoo inhaled deeply as he took each of Jongdae’s arms onto one of his hands and positioned them next to the stumps. He held them in place, pressing them against the priest’s body.

He held his breath for a moment as he gathered energy in his core.

When he exhaled, a flux of purple energy flowed out of his hands, wrapping Jongdae’s arms and upper torso in a dense fog.

As a Hell Official, he had done this countless times before: every time a prisoner became too injured after the torture, it was part of his duties to revert their body to its original state so they could undergo their punishment again.

However, there was one important distinction: those had been spiritual bodies only, and he had had his own original body as well.

Now there were real tendons, veins, nerves and bones to reconnect. It was also an entirely different situation to have to channel his power through such a weak vessel, like a river having to direct its waters through a bamboo pole: he actually had to make a greater effort to hold off most of his energy so as not to overwhelm Chanyeol’s body than to release the little that managed to flow through.

His brows creased into a deep frown as he visualized in his mind all the structures that had to be rebuilt: the fibers of Jongdae’s muscles, one by one; his blood vessels, both thick and thin; other soft tissues; all the pieces of bone.

The marks on the back of Chanyeol’s hands originally glowed a bright purple. As mist emanated from his hands in waves, however, they grew dimmer and dimmer; with every surge, a bit more light seemed to be drained from them.

Kyungsoo was only halfway done when all light left on them was completely extinguished.

They lost their color and returned to being simple blood drawings.

He noticed, of course ― but he could not interrupt the ritual. He could not stop to cast the spell again.

Suddenly, Chanyeol’s hands started to feel warm. Too warm.

The tips of Chanyeol’s fingers were already black from the spiritual punch Kyungsoo had given before. Now, as he continued to direct his energy through them, without the protective charm that served as a sort of catalyst for Kyungsoo’s powers, the blackness was starting to spread.

A few seconds into the process and all his fingers had turned black; a few more, and black lines started to appear in his hands, slowly reaching his wrists, his arms.

The feeling was something between pinching and burning, like ants were biting his skin as his arms roasted slowly over the fire. Kyungsoo bit his lower lip, taking his mind away from the pain and back to his task. He had been through worse, and with much less motivation.

At that moment, there was something ― someone ― worth fighting for… worth enduring for.

Chanyeol’s knuckles were already completely black. The crooked lines in his arms grew longer and branched into smaller ones.

Energy did not stop flowing from his hands for even a second.

He was not sure whether he could still feel his fingers; yet, he also had the sensation of feeling them _too much_ ― the scorch in his skin, the twisting of his muscles, his painfully sore joints.

His throat was dry, his lips felt parched, sweat ran down his face and dropped from his chin.

Kyungsoo had not noticed, but some of the villagers had approached them, although still keeping their distance. They knew those two had stood up to their captor, even if they could not really remember anything from when they were part of him (aside from an intense, instinctive fear).

They noticed his hands changing color. They knew something was not right.

Chanyeol’s vision started to blur. Kyungsoo forced his eyes to focus again.

They were so close now; all that was left was sewing the skin together, and he needed to be sure not to leave any scars.

His hands were shaking wildly, making Chanyeol’s whole body vibrate. The mist still flowed as if nothing was happening.

Inside the dense fog, the last bit of Jongdae’s skin in his arms shoulders reattached. Except for his torn robes ― and, well, for the amount of blood he had lost ― no one would have guessed he had been hurt that badly.

With his work finished, Kyungsoo let go of his self-control.

His head spun; his eyes blurred and blacked out. He fell back.

When he woke up, he was already in that tiny cottage in the far edge of the village, lying on a mat on the ground. On the other side of the room there was a fluffier futon, on which Jongdae was peacefully sleeping. He was not wearing his usual clothes ― only very simple, thin undergarments.

Still lying down, Kyungsoo’s eyes roamed over the room. Jongdae’s robes were hanging on a chair: somebody had taken them off and sewn the sleeves up again. Chanyeol’s clothes were also there; someone had apparently tried to wash the blood off of them. There were still some stains, but he thought whoever did that had been mildly successful ― at least they did not look like blood anymore.

He sat up and looked at Chanyeol’s hands. The skin on all fingers up to the middle of both his hands was completely black; from there to his elbows his arms were covered with a crisscross of black lines.

He attempted to flex his fingers; there was no pain, and apparently no permanent damage to either his joints or his muscles. Other than the sinister color on his skin, he felt fine. Considering the risk he had put Chanyeol’s body under, that was a very reasonable, minor damage.

Kyungsoo took off the undergarments he was in and put on Chanyeol’s own clothes again. He tied his long hair into a messy knot with a piece of cloth he found before opening the door to peek outside.

One of the villagers, most likely the one in charge of looking after them, promptly noticed him.

They talked a bit. The man explained they had moved the two of them to that cottage after Kyungsoo had fainted; it was one of the last buildings still standing, but the villagers knew those two had saved them and wanted to thank them somehow. They had found no wounds on the priest, so they had only sewn and washed his clothes.

As for Kyungsoo, he said, although no one had ever seen that kind of injury he had on his hands, they had tried all the medicinal herbs they knew of, but ― he apologized ― to no avail.

It was at that moment that Kyungsoo had asked him for the bandages.

Someone quickly found some buried fabric where the residence of the nobles’ tailor used to be and brought it to him.

After cutting it into long strips, he had wrapped Chanyeol’s hands and arms with them. It was not very comfortable, especially all that cloth between his fingers, but he did not want to scare Jongdae when he woke up ― at least not for now.

The villagers also gave him a basket with some food they had managed to gather, as well as a kettle for them to prepare some tea. Kyungsoo felt too tired to get energy through different means, so he took a generous bite of an apple and started to boil the water.

On the far side of the room, Jongdae was still sleeping. Kyungsoo gazed at him for a while.

He was reminded of when Jongdae had fallen ― his arms severed from his body… all that blood.

That had been close. Too close.

On the other hand, that experience had also provided him with the definitive answer he had been looking for regarding how he felt about Jongdae.

One could say he had not really risked his own life ― only Chanyeol’s ― but the truth was, Kyungsoo had forgotten about that distinction midway through the act. He had been willing to sacrifice his own hands; his own body, even part of his soul if it ever came to that.

How intense were his feelings for this stupid, naïve priest?

Kyungsoo had always been very reticent even about sharing his scrolls with other people. That he was ready to lose his limbs for him… was that not enough of an answer?

Fortunately, it had not come to that. Nevertheless, he knew there would be consequences. Such a massive display of his powers would not have gone unnoticed.

He needed to plan what to do next to secure Jongdae’s safety… especially in case he could no longer be by his side.

🙫

“Kyungsoo. Why did you do that?”

Suho’s tone was devoid of any politeness, but it was not yet aggressive. He seemed irritated.

After spending the day looking after Jongdae ― the villagers told Kyungsoo the priest had not woken up even once since they had taken them from the battlefield two days earlier (fortunately so, since that meant he had not seen the scars on Chanyeol’s body, nor anything else he shouldn’t have seen) ― with dusk had come a familiar itch in his hand.

It would be too much of a hassle to take the bandages off; he knew what that was even without looking.

He excused himself for a bit, asked a villager to keep an eye on Jongdae, and found a secluded spot behind some rubble to answer his summon.

Like other times before, he made a seal, then touched his hand with one finger where his skin itched the most.

In the blink of an eye, his consciousness had been brought back to Suho’s chambers, which was here he was now.

Unlike other times, though, there had been no greetings nor pleasantries. Kyungsoo was kneeling on the floor, and it did not seem that would change any time soon.

“Boss.” He greeted first, followed by a deep bow of his head. If he wanted to have any chances at getting off of that situation unscathed, he needed to be on Suho’s good side as much as possible. “I had my reasons.”

One of Suho’s reddish brows quirked up. “Proceed.”

“If he had died there, he would’ve died a martyr, which would most likely heighten the appreciation for his methods. There was also a chance his identity would not get around enough, as people prefer not to talk ill of the dead and would not want to spread word of his failure, in which case his death would have no impact on his reputation at all, and that other priest might continue to follow his steps without ever knowing he had passed away.”

He looked up. Suho motioned for him to continue.

“Since there were witnesses, however, once he wakes up, they will surely ask him about what he was trying to do. They will find out about his method, know how dangerous it is, and know that he failed. They will not only talk of his identity around, but also mention that his method was ineffective and almost led to his death. I believe this was the best way to discourage others of following his methods.”

Kyungsoo had been staring at the floor as he spoke; therefore, he could not see his boss’s reaction. When he finished, there was only silence.

Some time passed before Suho audibly sighed ― a sign for him to look up once again.

“What can I say? Those were not the instructions you had been given.” He rubbed his forehead, his eyes closed. “You may have good reasoning, but there is a chain of command and you know you broke it by acting on your own.”

When Suho opened his eyes and looked at him, Kyungsoo realized: he _knew_.

Even if he did not say it out loud, he knew. Kyungsoo was not sure how extensive was his knowledge, but it was obvious from Suho’s expression he had been able to read between the lines, no matter how persuasive his argument had been or how straight a face Kyungsoo thought he had had.

Yet, he was also choosing not to name it, not to call it for what it was…

“Let me be clearer this time.” He knelt in front of Kyungsoo, less than a meter from him, piercing him with his eyes. “Your instructions are to let. Him. Die. Do you understand?”

Kyungsoo nodded, being more careful not to let his emotions show.

“You know we cannot kill him directly, since we are not allowed to directly interfere in the lives of humans, but you can ― understand it as _should_ ― let him perish. Since he’s on a suicidal mission against that damned spirit, all the better.”

“Boss, please forgive my impertinence, but won’t that be considered an illicit interference as well? You know who that spirit is. It escaped hell. As our fugitive, whatever it does in the Human Realm is also our responsibility.”

If Kyungsoo were weak-spirited, the look Suho shot him at that moment would have petrified him.

As it was, however, he managed to keep his face expressionless, pretending he had no ulterior motives whatsoever when making that remark.

His boss got up, adjusted the front of his robes, and sat back on his chair.

“I hope you remember this whole ordeal is being kept under wraps.” He frowned as he stroked his thumb under his lower lip. “No one besides the selected people know you’re up there, so naturally few people know of that spirit escaping as well. We were also able to suppress your most recent event from reaching the ears of others… and we plan to keep it that way.”

 _Damn_. Kyungsoo had thought that was a good argument ― but of course his bosses were sharper than knives…

For now, there was not anything else he could argue… officially, that is.

He lowered his head in a gesture of submission that he hoped Suho would buy.

After some time, the red-haired Official sighed again.

“Next time the priest goes after that spirit, though, he’ll be more careful than before… so, just to be sure, you should work on making him break his vows.” Kyungsoo bit his lip, holding in his anger ― his urge to talk back. “I imagine that won’t be that difficult for you right now.” _Ugh_. He generally appreciated his boss, but… _that bastard_. “This was also part of your original instructions, after all, so please don’t ignore it.”

Heat spread throughout his body; Kyungsoo thought he might just combust right there and then. He shut his eyes tight, hoping to be back to the village when he opened them ― but when he did, he was still in that chamber.

Suho had not let him go yet.

In fact, his boss had stood up and approached him again, one of his pale hands now resting on one of his shoulders. With his other hand, he prompted Kyungsoo to lift his head and look up at him.

“Kyungsoo-yah… you’re still young, and there is much you have not had the time or the opportunity to learn. Listen to your superiors’ advice and just do as you’re told.”

He managed to stare at Suho for the whole length of his speech without blinking. He said nothing; his eyes were silent as well. Then he shut them again.

This time, he opened them to the remains of a destroyed village.

He let Chanyeol’s body fall back from its kneeling position and sat on the ground. That conversation had been simultaneously better and worse than he had hoped for. On one hand, he did not receive any punishment, an outcome he had honestly not expected. On the other… Suho had learned of his true motivations. He had not called him out on it, but he had not gone easy on him regarding his instructions either.

Even though he knew how Kyungsoo felt, he had still entrusted the mission to him…

Kyungsoo knew Hell did not have many options. It was a secret operation, which meant he could not be easily replaced; involving even more people in it would only make it that much easier for someone to find out. However, his boss could not _genuinely_ expect him to blindly follow those orders… or could he?

Unlike how easily Suho had read him, Kyungsoo could not do the same to him. He had no idea what his boss was thinking.

In most respects, though, that was largely unimportant at that moment. He would ruminate over this issue later, sleep on it for a couple of days. He still had some time.

There was something more urgent for him to do now.

He drew a familiar symbol in the air. After a ball of red smoke appeared and dissipated, there was tiny Baekhyun again.

“Boss!” The small being screamed, flying anxiously around him like a fly. “I couldn’t come see you earlier without you summoning me, but I’ve been so worried! So many people in the inner circle were talking about you, weird rumors are going around… I’m sorry to say a lot of them are badmouthing you, but I honestly don’t care! I’m just glad to see you’re alright ― there were some people saying you were going to be demoted for sure, or that they were going to cut one of your fingers off or maybe a whole arm or leg or something like that, but you’ve just met boss Suho and your spiritual body is fine, so I see that was just some baseless hearsay! Everybody is looking at me funny because I serve an ostracized Official but I really don’t mind ― with how much they’re avoiding me I actually feel much tougher, I don’t think I’ve ever been this respected befor―”

Kyungsoo managed to grab that buzzing Baekhyun by his tiny legs and held him in front of his face.

Baekhyun’s eyes were wide; he covered his mouth with both of his hands. Had he talked too much again?

“Thank you.”

The smaller boy’s eyes watered. “Boss~!” His voice faltered. “You dowd hab to thag be―”

Chanyeol’s eyes rolled in their sockets.

There, Kyungsoo had already been nice enough. He had no time for that.

“Listen, this is important. There is something I need your help with.”

🙫

Jongdae’s eyes flashed open.

Darkness completely surrounded him from every side. There was a faint light coming from a window somewhere ahead. Since it was the night of a new moon, however, that was not nearly enough to illuminate the room around him, which was devoid of any other source of light.

A new moon…

That meant he had slept for an entire day.

He looked at the pitch-black ceiling above him as his fingers felt the coarse fabric of his blanket. From the looks of it, he was in some kind of cottage. Considering he did not feel any pain and was not tied in any sort of way, he figured someone must have saved him and brought him there.

He couldn’t remember much of what had happened after he had started fighting the spirit. Kyungsoo was there… Jongdae vaguely remembered him screaming, pleading him not to go on with his ritual… but it was already too late ― he had already started it…

A cold shiver ran down his spine as sensations started to flood his mind.

In theory, his spirit could not feel cold, did not need to breathe. Yet, soon after he started the ritual, the feeling had been like sinking into the depths of a frozen lake. There was a despair akin to a lack of air; an absolute cold that felt bone-deep and petrifying, as if his very blood had frozen solid.

Unlike other times, there was no meeting ― he could not see, could not feel the evil spirit anywhere, even though at that moment their souls were supposedly intermingled.

It had taken him a long time to realize he could not sense a foreign presence because it was actually all around him.

Instead of a partial overlay of their souls, the spirit had completely enveloped his own, like a spider catching a fly.

Upon such realization, he had still tried to establish contact. He could sense a vague kind of consciousness surrounding him. He reached out.

His attempt was not fruitless: the spirit _did_ let him in ― or, one could say, let him _deeper_.

What Jongdae experienced was pure, unimaginable evil.

Normally, the feeling was more similar to listening to another voice inside his head ― only he was the one inside someone else’s head, listening to _their_ thoughts. Normally, it was then that he injected some energy in order to invert their roles, so that the spirits could listen to _his_ thoughts as well, could be infused with some of his ideas, soak in his values. He had always been able to convert them, to make them realize their faults.

There was no such chance there.

He witnessed the spirit’s sadism and cruelty first-hand. Its thoughts were mostly focused on selfish, narcissistic motivations, and found too much pleasure in violence.

For Jongdae, being forced to follow the spirit in its enjoyment of watching others burn, drown, be torn apart, or see their loved ones undergo any of those things, was worse than being stabbed by a thousand knives. It went against everything he believed in. He felt utterly disgusted. If he had a physical body then, every cell in it would be screaming for it to stop.

He wanted to close his eyes, cover his ears, but could not: their consciousnesses were tied together for the duration of the ritual.

… Or, seen as he was almost a hostage, until the spirit decided to let him go.

There was no end to the spirit’s perversity. The scenes it forced the priest to experience, be them the fruit of its imagination or recollections from its memory, grew worse in content even when he thought they could not degrade any further.

Jongdae could feel himself going mad.

He struggled; he fought back. No matter how much he tried, though, he could not find a way of separating himself from the spirit.

It was then that it occurred to him ― a last resort.

What would happen if he tried to exorcise it right there?

Their souls were still linked, but Jongdae had never heard of there being a possibility of exorcizing one’s own soul. Besides, the pathway to the other Realm would not be open to him, considering his organic bond to his body.

It could be painful, and he could not exclude the chance of losing a part of himself in the process. Yet, if he did not do something, _anything_ right there and then, he would surely lose his sanity, which would amount to losing (almost) everything else.

With that thought in mind, he began chanting the spells in his mind. He could not stop the spirit from hearing it, seen as they were in each other’s heads, but it made little difference anyway ― and so he moved forward, trying to project his spiritual energy into opening the channel to the otherworld.

That was when the eerie laughter started.

The gruesome images the spirit had been showing him still flashed in his mind; Jongdae had to put in a lot of effort in order to concentrate on his task. He tried once, twice, three times; he was sure he was doing everything right, so why was the door still locked? Why had the path not opened?

Was it because it was impossible to exorcise a spirit under those conditions ― or was there something else he was unaware of?

Why was the spirit laughing?

As he realized exorcising it would be impossible, panic threatened to overcome him.

He knew that, the same way many thoughts can cross one’s mind in the span of a second, even if it felt to him he had been under the spirit’s control for hours, no more than a couple of minutes must have passed in the Human Realm. How long would he be able to withstand such an ordeal? Ten minutes, an hour ― half a day?

Jongdae didn’t want to let the spirit have the satisfaction of watching him crumble. He tried his best to hold in his suffering, to keep a calm state of mind.

It was, however, of very little use; after all, the spirit could see his thoughts, could follow his reasoning. It knew what he was planning, feeling.

The snickering ensued.

The priest could not dissociate his consciousness from the images that sped in front of him, one after another. He had spent too much of his energy in his exorcise attempts; his resilience was slowly withering.

He could not stand much longer.

Light?

The spirit’s confidence faltered.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion.

Darkness faded away. Brightness was all around him, enveloped him whole.

Soon he felt the familiar sensation of being inside his own body. He was back.

And then…

Then…

What had happened?

Jongdae just couldn’t remember.

Feeling the futon under him, he tried to sit up, but his head spun so violently he was forced to lie down again. Why was he so weak? It almost seemed like… like he had been seriously hurt, and had lost too much blood…

 _Huh_. He frowned. Why did that idea not feel novel?

He paid close attention to his body. Indeed, there didn’t seem to be any wounds or injuries anywhere ― not that he could feel any, at least ―, but weren’t his shoulders a bit stiff…?

The priest turned to lie on his side with some effort, because of how limp his limbs were. Only then he noticed Kyungsoo… Chanyeol lying next to the other wall, partially hidden in the shadows. It was so uncommon to see him lying down that it took Jongdae some time to process it was actually him.

Kyungsoo didn’t need to sleep. He always said so.

If that was the case, why was he sleeping now?

That reminded him of something else that had drawn his attention. During their run through the village the night before, he was quite sure Chanyeol had been sweating. Since he was so used to _not_ seeing him sweat, it was a rather conspicuous change.

He observed Chanyeol’s peaceful face as he slept. At that moment, with his eyes closed, it occurred to Jongdae he resembled the old Chanyeol again.

He chuckled at that thought ― that Chanyeol resembled, well, _Chanyeol_. He had become so used to thinking of him as Kyungsoo that, he had to admit, it had reached a point he would go days without thinking of the original owner of that body, even that original owner being his childhood friend… his first love.

With each passing day, he also wondered more and more about what Kyungsoo’s original body looked like.

Not that there was any chance he would ever see him, though; even if he eventually exorcised him, he never saw the physical representations of the spirits he sent to the otherworld…

 _Ah…_ There seemed to be something wrong with Chanyeol’s hands. It was too dark to see clearly, but weren’t they darker than they should be? Or was it only the shadows…?

It was hard to concentrate… his mind was still dizzy…

He closed his eyes.

Perhaps… tomorrow…

🙫

“Are you sure you are already leaving, masters?”

Jongdae fixed the sack on his shoulder.

“Yes. We cannot possibly postpone our departure any further.” He bowed. “We are deeply grateful for the care grandfather and all the villagers have generously provided us with during this time.”

“No, no, no, master, don’t bow!” The elderly man was quick to ask him, urgently shaking his hands in front of his body. “The others will think ill of me if they see you bowing to me. We are the ones who have to thank you both for saving us!”

“We did only what our vocations required of us,” the priest reinforced. They still had not clarified to the villagers Kyungsoo was not a priest; at this rate, they never would. “You all, on the other hand, had no obligations whatsoever towards us. Please accept our words of gratitude. It is a shame they are all we can offer you.”

He was successful in his request: the man stopped his bouncing, although he still looked rather uncomfortable.

“I assure you, Priest-nim. They are more than enough.”

The man offered them more food and goods again, like he had many times that morning. Jongdae was adamant in his refusal: considering how miserable those people had become ― with their villages destroyed and much of the forests and fields surrounding them burnt to ashes ― he felt bad enough to have accepted (only after much insistence) what he already had (mostly food, placed now in that sack on his back).

After that, they finally managed to say their goodbyes to the elder. With a last wave to the other villagers who came to send them off, they left.

Kyungsoo followed Jongdae without a word as he took the path to the north.

They walked side by side, their robes swinging slightly with their small steps. The priest still felt a bit weak. Even though they were moving much slower than their usual pace, he had to stop every once in a while to collect his breath.

It annoyed Jongdae great deal.

It had been four days since their last encounter with the spirit: two days for the both of them to wake up, then two more for them to recover enough to travel. Who knew where the spirit was at that moment… how many other villages it had already come across? Would it try to create a body for itself again?

Jongdae wanted to stop it ― was determined to do so… although he didn’t know how.

As they gradually made their way up the dirt path, the priest reflected upon his condition. So far, he had not been able to reach a conclusion regarding the reason for his lack of vigor. It could be the case that the spiritual blow he suffered had been strong enough to leave an impact on his physical body; that possibility could not be discarded. Yet, Jongdae thought it unlikely, considering the effects actually seemed to be more substantial in his physical body than in his spirit.

Besides, there was that odd feeling in his shoulders.

He only felt it sometimes, when he made broader movements. It was a similar feeling to getting his shoulders dislocated (he unfortunately was familiar with that sensation after being in this profession for so long), although more pervasive in its extent: it applied not only to the tissue and muscle around his bones, but rather to the whole area of both his shoulders, somewhat trickling down to his upper arms and torso.

Jongdae was sure it had something to do with what had happened that night, with his memory loss… with Chanyeol’s bandaged arms.

He had been meaning to ask Kyungsoo about it all. Yet, in the last two days, they had barely been left by themselves for long ― what with the villagers coming to thank them or talk to them, or with them still aiding the villagers with what they could under the circumstances. In the few instances they were alone, Kyungsoo would find a way to spin their conversation in another direction, or even avoid talking altogether.

Even now, with them all alone in the middle of a grass field, Kyungsoo was uncharacteristically quiet.

It was not the case that he was the talkative type: he was certainly not. On the other hand, he often spoke his mind when it came to matters that concerned him. The priest had expected Kyungsoo to question his decision of chasing the spirit as soon as they stepped out of the villagers’ sight.

That Kyungsoo had not only followed him without arguing, but so far hadn’t even brought up the subject, was just too suspicious.

Jongdae himself, however, did not know how to start that conversation. He didn’t want to sound accusatory ― he truly wasn’t angry ― but he didn’t want to leave any margin for Kyungsoo to avoid answering him either.

He had to be firm ― but just enough so.

Being straightforward wasn’t his forte.

When they stopped again for him to catch his breath, Jongdae peeked at Kyungsoo, standing a couple of steps ahead of him. He was looking away. If Kyungsoo was able to feel his eyes on him (he most likely could, considering how perceptive he was), he pretended not to.

Jongdae sighed.

That was not the right time… not yet.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo gazed at the mountain range looming in the distance.

It marked one of the boundaries between the Human and Hell Realms.

When they had originally set off on their trip, mapping those boundaries had been Jongdae’s original intention. Kyungsoo knew he had not thought about that in ages, though. In the last few weeks, the spirit had been consuming all of his attention (understandably so).

It was shocking to think about it ― how much time had passed… how much things had changed.

He knew Jongdae had noticed his bandages. He knew that when the priest saw him without them ― saw the black lightning bolts covering his arms, the absolute blackness coating his fingers ― he would know what had caused it.

Perhaps, Kyungsoo could try to play the fool, say he didn’t know what it was or how it happened. However, considering how knowledgeable he had shown himself to be so far, wouldn’t that raise even more suspicion?

Jongdae was naïve in a lot of ways, but that was not one of them. Kyungsoo was convinced the priest would know he was lying.

He knew they would have to talk at some point. Jongdae certainly wanted to ask what had happened that night after he had “fainted”, why the spirit had left instead of slaughtering them all… how Chanyeol’s body had gotten hurt. That he hadn’t asked so far was only due to Kyungsoo’s ability to dodge the subject, plus an extra dose of sheer luck.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but wonder… what would happen if he just came clean?

No ― he couldn’t.

He _couldn’t_.

Besides, even if he did… he wouldn’t be able to assure Jongdae’s safety that way.

The priest was still staring at him, although he most likely did not realize he was being that obvious. Kyungsoo continued to avert his eyes, pretending not to notice.

Eventually, Jongdae gave up, and the two of them started walking again.

Kyungsoo thought he was overall in a rather unfortunate situation: he had come to love a man he was supposed to eliminate; stuck in a body that was not his own; chasing a spirit he himself had released (by mistake), one he could not catch unless he used his powers ― but doing so would kill his host, who happened to be his love interest’s loved one.

How he had gotten himself into that situation was something that eluded him.

He had always liked the simpler things; had always done his job without thinking too much about it. The same went for his relationships: in all his centuries of life, he had talked to people when he felt like it; befriended those whose personalities and conversations humored him, then distanced himself from them when they tired him; slept with those he wanted to sleep with, for as many times as it remained interesting, and stopped when it got boring. There was no need to bother himself with unnecessary feelings; no need to think too much about the feelings of others apart from basic respect.

When he was still young, just a couple of decades old, he had briefly entertained the idea of love. Eventually, nothing came out of it. From then on, aging had been accompanied by cynicism, and the conviction that nothing could ever be more valuable than simplicity.

Why had someone as weathered as him found himself caught in love’s grasp, after all these years?

The priest was handsome, but Kyungsoo had seen his fair share of handsome people throughout his life, both male and female. Being a Hell Official did not mean he did not meet people worthy of his attention in other respects either. Stereotypes of Hell were mostly prejudiced. There were plenty of other officials who had their heart in the right place (as much as one can, anyway), and even some humans: having to pay for one’s karma did not mean most of those people were wholly evil ― there were even a few Kyungsoo felt sorry for.

Being selfless, intelligent, serious, passionate, naïve, sometimes even a bit boring ― none of these characteristics was particularly rare. Still, Kyungsoo supposed that was just how things were: it had been a specific proportion, the right combination of all of them, that had shaped Jongdae the way he was.

Even if he was not special in any sense apart from his innovative technique, he was still unique ― just like (paradoxically) everybody else.

There was no point in trying to make sense out of it. He could list everything he liked about the priest, but still find a person with largely the same features and not care about them at all.

Simply put, he had fallen in love with Jongdae because he was _Jongdae_ ― not for any other reason. Coming to that conclusion only made Kyungsoo that much more determined to save him.

He had spent centuries without knowing what love was; this time, it was also much more intense than his only experience back in his early years. Besides always fighting for what he wanted, Kyungsoo was not about to let go of a feeling he might never experience again ― a feeling that, for all the headache it gave him, also warmed his chest and excited him like nothing else.

There was a weird pleasure in being in love, even if unrequited; a _raison d’etrê_ ― a sense of being, of purpose. He could finally understand where humans had gotten the idea of ‘destiny’ from. As an Official from another Realm, he knew no such thing existed; yet, it was hard to deny that odd sense of finality that assaulted him whenever he looked at the priest.

 _Damn it all_.

He was a simple man who shied away from turmoil as much as he could. Hence, that was the only approach he could possibly take: he loved Jongdae.

That was it.

The simplest answer he could find.

What to do, how to proceed ― he had only to think of that simple truth and pick up from there.

As night fell, they decided to set up camp.

Although the priest wanted to keep going on, Kyungsoo insisted he needed to rest: he was not fully recovered yet, and walking a whole day and night would certainly be more than his body could handle.

They sat near the woods, using the trees as shelter. Jongdae wanted to help Kyungsoo get some firewood, but he refused and forced him to sit down.

While he was out, the priest resigned himself to spread out their bamboo mats and get some food from his sack. Despite the exhaustion threatening to take over his body, his mind was running at full speed; being on edge throughout the entire day, he felt he couldn’t wait any longer.

He had to ask Kyungsoo now.

Chanyeol’s body soon resurfaced from within the forest with a pile of wood sticks on his arms. He placed them between the mats, then searched his satchel for a moment before taking a fire talisman out of it. He was about to throw it when Jongdae stopped him.

“Let me do it. You shouldn’t start fires with those bandages on your hands.”

It was the first time he had mentioned them out loud. Kyungsoo nodded and sat back silently, his eyes dark with expectation.

The priest started the fire, but didn’t follow up with a question as Kyungsoo thought he would.

Instead, he handed him a rice cake.

“It’s better if you eat, isn’t it?”

Kyungsoo stared at him.

Jongdae calmly stared back.

After some seconds, Kyungsoo bent over and took the cake in his hand.

They both ate in silence.

Once they finished, the priest took some berries from the sack and shared them with Kyungsoo.

Despite his unruffled composure, Jongdae was actually dumbstruck.

That Kyungsoo was not a regular spirit was just a wild guess on his part ― considering he had signs of a ghoul, but no apparent malevolence. Additionally, Kyungsoo had apparently been expecting him to say something (and there he thought he had hidden his suspicion so well!), since he did not seem that surprised when he heard that question and was rather quick to confirm it.

It was only after they finished their meal that Jongdae managed to collect his mind enough to continue.

“So… Chanyeol is still alive?”

Kyungsoo looked down, but nodded.

Jongdae knew he should be happy about that ― and he was, to some degree. Yet (and he felt guilty as soon as he realized it), that was not his greatest concern. Now that he had gotten that question out of the way, there was only one thing in his mind.

 _Kyungsoo_.

“Can I see your hands?”

Chanyeol’s mouth twitched into a discreet smirk. Jongdae was, indeed, quite smart.

Under the light of the fire, he slowly unwrapped the bandages from his arms, revealing the black lines underneath that snaked down to his hands.

“Spiritual scarring…” Jongdae traced the lines with the tip of his fingers. He looked at them as if in a trance. “The energy flow was intense, but very precisely controlled. Chanyeol’s Qi channels were barely damaged…”

His fingers stopped over the back of one of Chanyeol’s hands. He frowned for a brief moment, before his expression changed to one of surprise.

Kyungsoo could guess why: he had most likely found the traces of the spell he had casted that day… a very advanced spell. Most cultivators would not be familiar with it, since it was useless for humans. If there was anyone who would know it in the Human Realm, Kyungsoo would be willing to bet it was Jongdae.

“What… are you?”

The priest sounded (and looked) confused.

With Jongdae’s hand still lingering over his own, Kyungsoo sighed.

“I can’t tell you. It’s… against the rules.” He was surprised when the priest said nothing in return and merely continued to gaze at him; every time he had played that scene in his head, Jongdae had been a lot more curious. “Aren’t you going to insist?”

The priest lightly squeezed Kyungsoo’s hand.

“If it’d harm you to tell me, I’d rather not know.”

Kyungsoo chuckled. Such an answer… he should’ve known.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I possessed Chanyeol either?”

This time, it took Jongdae a bit longer to answer. As Kyungsoo had mentioned ‘rules’, he figured it had not been the case of a spiritual creature running amok ― or of a mere possession by chance. The existence of rules meant there was some kind of order or organization.

He hadn’t been able to process the full list of possibilities yet; excitement still had the best of him, and the intensity with which Kyungsoo was staring at him was enough to put his mind in a haze. However…

“You’re not the kind of person to beat around the bush. If you’re not being straightforward about it… then, perhaps, it is better for me not to know about it as well, at least until you feel ready to tell me.” He smiled. Considering Kyungsoo’s secrecy about it, he knew it could not be anything good ― but it pleased him enough that he seemed willing to tell him. “Besides, I feel that, whatever reason you had when you started this… it has changed, hasn’t it?”

It appears Jongdae could read him better than Kyungsoo thought.

“Yeah.”

Silence fell between them.

Jongdae wondered about everything he did not know, and what he could ask about; Kyungsoo thought of everything he _did_ know, and to what extent he could reveal it.

“There’s something I have to apologize about.” There was a lot, actually; but he ought to start somewhere. “I knew your techniques wouldn’t work on that spirit, but I didn’t tell you about it and, as a result, you almost died. I’m sorry.”

The priest raised both of his eyebrows. “I almost died?”

Oh. That had been a slip of the tongue.

Then again, the cat was already out of the bag, wasn’t it? That bit more information wouldn’t hurt.

“The spirit cut both of your arms off. You almost bled out.”

 _Hm_. That explained a lot of things.

But still… Jongdae was surprised. “Was it you who patched me up?!”

Kyungsoo nonchalantly nodded.

On the last few days, the priest had studied his shoulders over and over, both spiritually and with his eyes. There was no scar whatsoever on any level ― no trace of magic, of spiritual meddling, not even as much as a bruise on the skin. To think his arms had been completely severed from his body… such a high cure technique…

Just who was Kyungsoo?

Well, of course, that was a stupid question. He was him. _Kyungsoo_. Whatever his nature was, Jongdae was confident he knew his _essence_. That was enough.

“Can you tell me now, then ― why it didn’t work?”

“It is quite simple. He is not a spirit stranded on the Human Realm like the others. He escaped from Hell.”

Jongdae almost choked on his own saliva. “Are you sure?!”

Unfortunately, Kyungsoo had confirmed it first-hand. “Yeah.”

“I’ve heard of it happening before, but… only on records…” He rubbed his chin as he thought. “I thought the Gods of Heaven and Hell wouldn’t make this kind of mistake.”

Those words were like knives stabbing right through Kyungsoo’s proud heart. It had been his first mistake in centuries! The priest would be surprised to find out how many truly incompetent beings existed on both realms, though…

After his initial surprise, Jongdae’s thoughts went back to the issue at hand. “That’s going to be a problem, isn’t it?”

Kyungsoo concurred. “It’s not going to be easy.”

“I have never seen any mention of rituals to send spirits off to specific Realms… I don’t even know if that’s possible…” He was more blabbering to himself than talking to Kyungsoo now, his unfocused eyes staring at the fire as his mind leaped from one thought to another. “There’s a chance we might get help from other Realms, but we cannot count on it for now…”

His stream of conscience was interrupted by Chanyeol’s loud bark. Kyungsoo was laughing. _Laughing_!

Jongdae couldn’t help frowning.

“Is there anything funny about this situation?” He chastised him, his hands already back to his lap.

Since he didn’t have to hide it anymore, Kyungsoo threw the bandages into the fire, smiling as he watched them burn.

“I knew we would have this conversation sooner or later, but I never thought you’d get over it this fast.”

“Over what?”

Kyungsoo looked at him in disbelief.

“See?! That’s what I’m talking about. Are you sure you’re ok with the fact I’m not what you thought I was?”

“As far as I’m concerned, you are still the same Kyungsoo I’ve always thought of you as.” Under normal circumstances, Kyungsoo would have cringed at the tackiness; as it was, though… he would never openly acknowledge how fast those embarrassing words made his heart beat. “Whatever your nature is… I’m confident I’ll accept it.”

Kyungsoo knew that, due to his feelings, he was prone to misunderstanding things; he was too eager to find reflexes of his feelings in Jongdae’s actions, to read too much into his words, to project illusions into his eyes. It might be just his wishful thinking acting up again, but― what Jongdae said― was it something a friend would say?

Like the priest said, he was straightforward: he needed to set it straight, or else he’d go mad. Other people might prefer to postpone getting closure for the sake of avoiding suffering, but Kyungsoo would much rather have his answer now ― for better or worse.

“Jongdae.” Kyungsoo held his wrist, forcing his attention to turn back to him. “What do you mean by that?”

The priest’s first instinct was to assure him he meant exactly what he said. In fact, he truly had not said those words with any hidden meaning in mind. Yet, as he looked into Kyungsoo’s eyes, he felt his resolve fade away.

The right question was not _what_ he meant, but _why_ he felt that way; why he was so willing to accept that Kyungsoo had lied to him, had kept secrets from him, without feeling even an ounce of doubt over his character.

He knew why. He had been thinking about that for weeks.

Perhaps that was the reason Kyungsoo’s simple question managed to destabilize him so easily.

Jongdae’s heart was racing in his chest. Besides destabilizing him because of his own inner feelings, Kyungsoo’s words also ruffled him in another way. That kind of question… was there a chance that Kyungsoo, too…

He shouldn’t let his imagination run wild― he shouldn’t delude himself―

He would run away if he could…

That was too much for him to handle.

He had never confessed, never had that kind of relationship; after an unsuccessful first love, he had joined the Order when he was still a child, had grown up under a purity oath. Love was not something he thought of often when it came to himself ― not something he had ever considered for his own life.

But now…

Now it was within his grasp, at the tip of his fingers… like a tantalizing red apple hanging from a tree.

“What I mean is…” He could feel the dryness in his lips, his throat. “You’re special to me.”

Kyungsoo squinted. “Special how?”

“You’re the closest to me.” A different kind of heat was surging through Jongdae’s body; like a bad fever, he felt his neck burning up. “No one has ever known me as well as you do.”

“Not even him,” he pointed to his body. “Chanyeol?”

With the way that conversation was going, Jongdae felt a weird mix of anticipation and fear. There was no denying Kyungsoo was onto him now; those questions, that comparison… he was looking for confirmation for a hypothesis that had become rather obvious. The intention behind it, however, was much less clear.

Was it just curiosity, or… something else?

“I mean…” The priest stuttered, averting his eyes as he felt the heat warming up the lower part of his face. “We were just children back then…”

Kyungsoo pulled him a bit closer. “How do we compare?”

“What?”

“How do I compare to him? Or, actually…” He hesitated for a second ― not even Kyungsoo was immune to his nerves. “How does the way you felt about him compare to how you feel about me?” The priest was speechless for a moment; Kyungsoo pressed on. “Is it… the same?”

He had vacillated at first, but not now.

Jongdae shook his head. “It’s not the same.”

Kyungsoo felt his heart plunge.

If he had loved Chanyeol… then…

“I was just a child. My feelings were pure, but, due to my lack of experience… they were also shallow.” He blushed. “There is so much more at stake now, and yet… even with how complicated things are…” His vocation, his oath, Chanyeol’s possession; Kyungsoo’s lies, his secrets, his bodiless state ― it felt like the situation could not possibly be any harder. And yet…

“I cannot stop myself from gravitating towards you.”

He covered his eyes with his free hand, too embarrassed to look at Kyungsoo in the eyes ― or to have Kyungsoo look at him.

“I guess what I mean is… that I… I love you.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jongdae felt Kyungsoo pulling the hand that was over his face down.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Kyungsoo staring straight at him ― but not inquisitively like before.

He had a warm look in his eyes, the warmest the priest had ever seen in them. Their pure blackness had become a pool of honey, dripping sweet.

They overflowed with feelings, with unspoken words. Even if he did not express them, Jongdae thought he knew what he meant.

The intensity in their gaze spread the heat throughout Jongdae, filling every nook and cranny in his body.

Kyungsoo was a bit more familiar with that feeling, at least on a physical level. It was his first time, however, feeling such excitement emotionally as well. He felt high, intoxicated.

Both felt a sudden urge to _touch_ ― the characteristic desire to explore one another that comes with the confirmation of one’s feelings being reciprocated.

However… there was a problem.

One could not use his own hands to touch; the other had no way of touching his lover’s body.

In the last few weeks, they had pretty much forgotten about Chanyeol. Yet, at this moment, they were painfully aware of his existence.

The only part of Chanyeol’s body where Jongdae felt he could see Kyungsoo, _truly_ see Kyungsoo, was his eyes. There was something different in them now that Kyungsoo was inside him; as windows to one’s soul, even if their outer shape had not changed, the one they reflected right now was Kyungsoo, and only him.

Their intense stare at each other would have been enough to burn holes. At that moment, however, that was not their intention at all.

Kyungsoo let go of Jongdae’s wrists.

Gradually, without ever taking their eyes off of one another’s, they lied down on one of the mats.

Jongdae’s and Chanyeol’s bodies were close to each other, but did not touch.

Without the sun to measure the passing of time, there was no knowing how long they stayed like that, swimming in each other’s eyes.

“You should go to sleep.” Kyungsoo suggested after some time. “We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

The priest’s face became filled with concern.

“I want to… but I don’t think I can.”

“Why?”

“I can’t stop thinking about it…”

“About what?”

“The words you didn’t say to me.”

That was the first time their eyes stopped meeting in over who knows how long: Kyungsoo couldn’t help rolling his eyes.

“Love you.” The words came out fast and monotone, as if they were not important at all.

Jongdae knew better: Kyungsoo was embarrassed.

“Now go to sleep.”

The priest giggled.

“Ok.”


End file.
